Aston Villa have had their chances against Manchester City weighed up by pundit Paul Merson as the Villans look to record their second win over the Cityzens this season on Wednesday.
The challenges keep coming for Aston Villa, who come up against Manchester City on Wednesday night at the Etihad Stadium.
It’s an important game for both sides, with Pep Guardiola’s side surely needing a win to remain in the title race and the Villans requiring three points to keep in control of the race for the top four.
Despite the task in hand looking difficult, Unai Emery’s side knows how to navigate a win over the treble winners, having collected three points from City back in December at Villa Park.
It’s an even bigger challenge to repeat the result in Manchester, given that Guardiola’s side hasn’t lost at home since December 2022 although, the stakes are high for the Villans which could motivate history to be rewritten.
Paul Merson shares his prediction of Manchester City v Aston Villa
Three points for Villa would see them close the gap between third and fourth to just two points, reinforcing just how remarkable this season has been for Emery’s side.
That being said, it’s difficult to ignore the threat of City when they need a victory, with Paul Merson drawing attention to such a narrative in his pre-match prediction.
In his column for Sports Keeda, the Sky Sports pundit shared his view ahead of tomorrow night’s blockbuster, branding it a “hard game”.
“Manchester City have reached that stage of the season where they’ve got to win this game. They’re three points behind in the title race with a worse goal difference. If they draw this game, it’s going to be very difficult for them.”
“This is a hard game, and City have got some injuries.”
“Aston Villa got a good result against Wolves and this is a big game for them as well. Villa have got good fixtures after this match, and they’ll hope that Tottenham drop points this week.”
“I’m going to go with Manchester City to win this game, but they won’t win it by a big margin.”
Merson predicted a 1-0 win for the hosts, a narrow margin in what is set to be a huge game for both clubs involved.
Aston Villa must believe that they can beat Manchester City
There was a lot of talk highlighting Manchester City’s frailties in attack caused by injury during their 0-0 draw with Arsenal on Sunday afternoon.
The stalemate represented the first time that City had failed to score at the Etihad in 882 days, revealing the difficulties Guardiola’s side are currently facing.
Villa will go to Manchester knowing how to squeeze three points out of the Cityzens, who are jaded by injury and up against it when it comes to their hopes to win the league.
It could prove to be the perfect time for Emery’s side to play the treble winners, with an explosive and confident performance having the keys to cause the hosts to wobble.
