Prediction & odds for the game: Aston Villa (12/1) v Manchester City (1/6)
When: Sunday, 12th January 2020 @ 4.30pm K.O
Where: Villa Park
Aston Villa and Manchester City will meet in a minor David vs Goliath clash at Villa Park in the Premier League, in what could prove to be a preview of the 2020 Carabao Cup Final.
Aston Villa
There’s no point in pretending like Villa have had a fair playing field throughout the first half of the season, because their injury problems have clearly hit them where it hurts. While they’ve had the likes of Tyrone Mings returning to action as of late, there’s still an awful long way to go before they can even think about another season in the top flight. Dean Smith needs to make some changes in January, and he needs to make sure that he doesn’t waste any time waiting around.
Villa have had to really battle for the wins they’ve been able to accumulate so far this season, with a shining example of that being their two wins over Burnley and Norwich – both by one goal, with both nearly going a very different way. They secured the draw they wanted from the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final against Leicester, but they were knocked out of the FA Cup by Fulham and beaten by Watford & Southampton in the league.
Manchester City
The goal for Manchester City this season was obviously going to be winning every single trophy available to them, and while they’re off to a decent start with their pursuit of the Carabao Cup, FA Cup and Champions League, they’ve been massively struggling in the Premier League. There’s still time for Pep Guardiola to turn this ship around but it’s going to take an almighty favour from clubs around the league who need to help them chop away at Liverpool’s commanding lead.
The defeat against Wolves at the end of December was incredibly disappointing for Guardiola’s men, but aside from that, they’ve been pretty much perfect as of late. They beat Leicester, Everton and Sheffield United in the Premier League, Port Vale in the FA Cup, and Manchester United in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final.
Conclusion
We think that Villa are going to try and be conservative within the first few minutes of the game – they’ll play the ball around the back, they’ll look comfortable, and then in the blink of an eye they’ll be caught in a big way. We can’t imagine anything other than a one-sided massacre in this encounter, to the point where we wouldn’t be all too surprised if City toy with the record for the biggest win in Premier League history. That sounds extreme, but that’s the divide we’re talking about here.
If they’re going to play around with the record as we’ve indicated, then the over 2.5 goal threshold is going to be shattered with ease before the half time whistle blows.
Verdict: Back the away win at odds of 1/6 and the over 2.5 goals scored at odds of 2/7. (All odds are taken from bet365).
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