It’s a crucial battle in the race for the European places on Tuesday evening as Manchester City host Aston Villa at the Etihad.
Seventh-placed Villa boosted their top five chances significantly by demolishing Newcastle United 4-1 on Saturday. This saw them move to within two points of the third-placed Magpies.
City are currently in fourth and are one point better off than the Villans. They beat Everton 2-0 on Saturday to extend their unbeaten run to six games in all competitions.
MAN CITY VS ASTON VILLA PREVIEW
While the last five encounters have been even, City have the much stronger record against Villa overall. The last four games have all gone the way of the home side, while the game before this was a 1-1 draw.
This fixture last season was a 4-1 victory to City. A Phil Foden hat-trick proved decisive after Jhon Durán has cancelled out Rodri’s opener.
Earlier this season, Villa claimed the spoils at Villa Park. Durán and Morgan Rogers put Villa two goals up, with Phil Foden’s 93rd-minute strike proving to be a mere consolation.
Villa have not won a Premier League game at the Etihad since April 2007, with John Carew and Shaun Maloney netting in a 2-0 victory. Villa have also not done the league double over Man City since the 1962/63 season.
Rodri and Nathan Ake are both long-term absentees for Man City and will not feature in this game. Meanwhile, Erling Haaland is still out with his foot injury.
Ederson’s injury means Stefan Ortega will play in goal while John Stones will also be out.
There are no injury concerns for Aston Villa boss Unai Emery. He is expected to bring back Digne and Pau Torres as he rotates his squad for freshness.
Amadou Onana could also be back, while Ollie Watkins did his prospects no harm by scoring against Newcastle over the weekend.
MAN CITY VS ASTON VILLA – PREDICTIONS
Man City Win
City have home advantage and know that three points here will put clear water between themselves and sixth-placed Nottingham Forest. Their last home game was a 5-2 demolition of Crystal Palace. Scoring goals at the Etihad is not an issue, having netted 36 in their 11 matches in all competitions in 2025.
Draw
A draw may be a useful result for both sides, particularly as both clubs may have one eye on their FA Cup semi-finals at the weekend. Both sides have winnable fixtures in their final four Premier League games too, with this one the toughest for each of them.
Aston Villa Win
Villa will be looking to leapfrog City and cement their place in the top five. They have a fully fit squad at their disposal and have won their last three away games in the Premier League without conceding a goal. Their last two away wins were both with 3-0 score lines.
MAN CITY VS ASTON VILLA – BETTING TIPS
Draw
This game really could go either way. Both sides are in great form and could cancel each other out. Aston Villa have won five Premier League games in the row, progressed to the FA Cup semi-finals and pushed PSG all the way in the Champions League.
City, meanwhile, are unbeaten in five Premier League games and have kept a clean sheet in three of their last four. Despite this, I still fancy a high-scoring draw with the attacking talent on display. City have also conceded 21 goals at home this season, their poorest record for nine seasons.
Omar Marmoush to Score
Omar Marmoush is in strong form, having scored six goals in his six Premier League appearances for Man City at the Etihad. He is clearly relishing being the leading man in Haaland’s absence and will be determined to build on his record against Villa.
Meanwhile, City have scored at least two goals in 10 of their last 11 home games in all competitions. They have a goals per game average of 3.27 this calendar year, scoring 36 goals at the Etihad.
Ollie Watkins to Score or Assist
Ollie Watkins is having an incredible campaign. He has netted 15 goals and contributed seven assists in the Premier League this season. Meanwhile, he has scored 34 goals and assisted 14 in 88 appearances away from home in the Premier League. This makes him second only to Gabriel Agbonlahor in these metrics. In his last seven away league games for Villa, Watkins has scored four times and provided one assist.
HEAD-TO-HEAD AND KEY STATS
- Man City and Aston Villa have played each other 182 times, with the Sky Blues winning 81. Villa have won 59 games while there have been 42 draws.
- City have won their last 14 home games against Villa in the Premier League, scoring at least two goals in each of the last 13.
- Villa have won two of their last three against Man City in the Premier League. Before this, they had only won twice in 23 games.
- Aston Villa have not won at the Etihad since 2007. They will be looking to do the double over Man City for the first time since the 1962/63 season.
- City have won eight of their 11 home games this calendar year.
- City are unbeaten in their last five games in the Premier League.
- City have conceded 21 goals at home in the Premier League this season, their worst record in nine years.
- Villa are on a five-match winning streak in the Premier League.
- Villa have won their last three Premier League matches on the road, and haven’t conceded in any of them.
