Premier League: City Must Do Their Talking on the Pitch

Manchester City vs Aston Villa

It’s been quite a week for Manchester City and not one the club will want to be reminded of for too long, but they may not have the choice.

At the beginning of the week, the Premier League announced they were lodging over 100 charges against the Sky Blues.

The charges detailed, among other things, the club’s failure to provide timely financial information over a number of campaigns. And fans of City’s rival are gleefully speculating just how severe the sanctions may be: from mega fine and points deductions, or even an expulsion.

But for the sake of Sky Blues fans and the rest of us, let’s talk about matters on the pitch where City simply must do the business; it’s between City and Villa on Sunday and that’s a mouthwatering prospect.

Both teams are on the back of a defeat, as Villa lost 4-2 at home to Leicester City while the Sky Blues went down 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur.

The latest Premier League 2023 betting odds say it’s a home win, but Villa have progressed to 11^th under Unai Emery and are a real and present danger to Pep Guardiola’s out of sorts Sky Blues.

City are five points behind leaders Arsenal, having played a game more, and that is a gap they can afford to see get any bigger.

Talking Points

Can City win the title with a No. 9?

Having won four Premier League titles in the last five seasons and then signing the scoring sensation Erling Haaland for this campaign, it looked like the Premier crown would stay at the Etihad for another season.

But it hasn’t turned out that way so far.

Sure thing Haaland has been immense. He has scored an unbelievable 31 goals in all competitions, 25 in the league and he has four Premier League hat-tricks to his name, more than Cristiano Ronaldo and the same number as Mohamed Salah. So why aren’t the Sky Blues streets ahead?

Well, other than Phil Foden who has seven goals to his name, no other City players has scored more than four, a remarkable statistic for a team which has previously shared the goals around. Having a big No. 9 has changed the way the Sky Blues play and maybe the focal point has detracted from opportunities elsewhere.

It’s a conundrum Guardiola needs to solve quickly, but surely he must start the upcoming games with his best players Kevin De Bruyne and Foden.

The Sky Blues were undone by the great Harry Kane last week but they rarely looked like winning the match and the absence of their two playmakers from the starting lineup was a head-scratcher.

Manchester City fans will be hoping Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal come a cropper against Brentford this weekend. But even more that, they want to see the old City back and firing as well as Haaland.

Emery has Villa ticking

Since his arrival at Villa Park following the sacking of Steven Gerrard, Unai Emery has turned the Villains around and pulled them successfully away from danger, with good Premier League 2023 results over Southampton, Leeds United, and Spurs in the last five games.

He can’t call on the star names that Guardiola has and top scorer Danny Ings was sold to West Ham in the January window down. But unlike City, Aston Villa are playing like a team in harmony.

They have a serious goal threat in striker Ollie Watkins while Emiliano Buendia is a classy attacking midfielder with great technical skills and a killer pass.

And with World Cup winner Emi Martinez as their last line of defence, they have a big character to give the back four confidence.

History

The head-to-heads have been dominated by the Sky Blues who have notched up 32 wins to Villa’s seven and they are unbeaten in this fixture at the Etihad over the past seven games, but when the two teams met in Birmingham in September, they played out a 1-1 draw.

Recent form has been patchy for City with three wins and three defeats over the past six games, while Villa have won three, drawn two, and lost one.

But with a home record of nine wins, one draw, and one defeat this season, Guardiola’s side has been in championship form on their home turf.

Betting Tip

SBOTOP odds of 12.04 on an away win is a big price but it doesn’t tempt me and the draw at 5.60 looks unlikely too.

Yes, Emery has Villa playing well, but I find it hard to believe that Guardiola will allow the Sky Blues’ malaise to continue for another week, otherwise it could become terminal.

Another hat-trick for Haaland wouldn’t be a surprise, though.

 

●●●

CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS

Stay updated with everything sports and betting.

Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.