Chris Sutton makes prediction for Aston Villa v Manchester City
Chris Sutton has predicted that the points will be shared as Aston Villa welcome Manchester City to Villa Park on Saturday.
A win for Unai Emery’s side would see them go above the Premier League holders with the potential to go as high as fourth place with three points.
With City in dismal form, the Villans will surely be pleased to play them at this stage of the season when coming away from the game with something that feels like an achievable aim.
Nevertheless, Villa are looking to bounce back from defeat themselves after a 2-1 loss against Nottingham Forest last weekend thanks to a 93rd-minute Anthony Elanga goal.
In his BBC Sport predictions, Sutton struggled to split the sides as he said: “Aston Villa are 10 points worse off than the same stage of last season, when they were in second place with 35 points from 16 games.
“This time, they are seventh and if you look at their results in the Premier League so far then, apart from when they saw off Fulham in October, they have only beaten teams in the bottom half of the table.
“I don’t want to call them flat-track bullies but they are only getting wins against the weaker teams.
“Maybe we have to put Manchester City in that bracket too at the moment, though?
“The smart move for me and anyone else making predictions would be to just back City every week now, because eventually they will come good – but I’ve not seen anything to suggest it will happen here.
“So, I am certainly not going to say they will win at Villa Park, or keep a clean sheet, but then Villa have not really convinced me to back them either. Prediction: 1-1.”
Aston Villa have an opportunity to beat Manchester City
With their opponents in poor form and with one win in 11 games in all competitions, this is a big opportunity for Emery’s side to pick up some points and take advantage of Pep Guardiola’s situation.
Villa have been inconsistent themselves throughout the campaign though, as they try to juggle competing in the Champions League with their Premier League campaign and despite winning the three games prior, disappointingly dropped points against Forest.
Furthermore, there have been questions posed over whether the team have enough in their squad to manage the increased number of games they have faced this season. Therefore, if they can rise as high as fourth ahead of the 3pm kick-offs, this could well be Emery’s message of intent.
Regardless of their current form, the Blues do have quality players in their squad and could turn on their shine again at any point. Therefore, you can imagine that Emery would be relatively pleased with a point from this game.
In other Aston Villa news, Napoli are plotting a transfer swoop for one player at the club.
For more Aston Villa news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.