Why Nicolas Jackson can prove Gabby Agbonlahor prediction right in Aston Villa vs Man City

Gabby Agbonlahor believes Aston Villa "aren't scared" of Manchester City.

The Villains welcome the under-fire Citizens to Villa Park on Saturday afternoon for a 12:30pm kick-off.

With every City game being played under a cloud of their well-document Premier League scandal, Villa will be hoping to take advantage of that.

Enzo Maresca's side could be distracted by all that's going on at the Etihad off the pitch, and Unai Emery will have a gameplan he thinks can secure victory.

Still, City have an abundance of elite talent in their squad, especially in attack, and the Villains rearguard will have to be on top form.

However, Agbonlahor believes the same can be said in that respect for City's defence.

What has Gabby Agbonlahor predicted Aston Villa will do vs Man City?

Sometimes, the best form of attack is defence, especially against teams that boast considerable firepower of their own.

City, of course, possess one of the world's best strikers in Erling Haaland, as well as a plethora of top-class forward players around him.

The Norwegian can so often win games practically singlehandedly, and stopping him goes a long way to stopping City as a whole.

But speaking via talkSPORT on Thursday morning, Agbonlahor has backed Villa to give the Citizens a real good battle on Saturday lunchtime.

"Aston Villa aren't scared of Man City at Villa Park. They will go toe-to-toe with them," the ex-Villa striker said.

"You can get at that back four. Man City, defensively aren't as good as Arsenal are. Aston Villa will go after them."

So, just are City as fragile in defence as Agbonlahor believes they are, and why should Nicolas Jackson's Viking display strike fear into Maresca's men?

How many shots on target did Jackson have vs Viking?

Through seven Premier League games this season, City have conceded seven goals, so it doesn't take a mathematician to work out that's an average of one per game.

City have, however, kept just three clean sheets in the league this season, which is the same number as newly-promoted Hull City.

They've conceded 10 goals in their last five games in all competitions too, which suggests their backline isn't in a great run of form right now.

Per FotMob, in the 70 minutes Jackson was on the pitch against Viking, he attempted four shots with three being on target.

He also created two chances, completed 11 of 12 pass attempts successfully, completed two dribbles and missed two big chances.

So, not only was Jackson very unlucky not to grab a few goals on Wednesday night, he was also excellent on the creative front too.

With City's defence shaky for their standards right now, the Senegalese international should be licking his lips ahead of Saturday's game.