ASTON VILLA boss Steven Gerrard is under enormous pressure now and the absolute last thing he needs is a visit from champions and free-scoring hotshots Manchester City.
The former Rangers boss appears to be on the brink at Villa Park with the punters extremely unhappy at his results since he took charge and the way they are playing. He's won just seven league games in 2022.
While losing 2-1 at Arsenal in midweek was certainly no disgrace, he desperately needs results. And only the most optimistic Villian will expect them to stop the City juggernaut.
Pep Guardiola's side are in ominous form. Nottingham Forest must have been delighted with the pre-match talk of Erling Haaland being rested. But it was a dastardly smokescreen by the Spaniard and the Norwegian machine duly smashed in a first half hat-trick for his second trio of goals in a row in a 6-0 demolition.
That's 17 goals in their last four games now for City and given they often take some time to find their stride, that's extremely worrying for the rest of the league.
And no one should be more worried than Gerrard.
How the bookies view it
Aston Villa are massive underdogs here and can be backed at 15/2 with William Hill. Manchester City are warm favourites of course and Betfred's 4/11 is about the best you will get for a win for the champions.
The draw is 5/1 with bet365.
Recent head to heads
Villa ran City close on both occasions last season and eventually triumphed 3-2 at the Etihad and 2-1 in Birmingham on their way to the title.
City have won nine in a row in this fixture in all competitions and Villa haven't beaten them in their last 13 meetings.
Players to watch
Danny Ings has scored two goals this season for the hosts and he can be backed at 4/1 with bet365.
With Erling Haaland seemingly going to be heavy odds-on to score in every game he plays, it's time to look elsewhere for a semblance of value. Bernando Silva remains a City player and scored against Newcastle and Crystal Palace. He is 18/5 to score with 888Sport.
Anything else catch the eye?
Villa have only really suffered one thrashing since Gerrard took charge – a 4-0 home pumping from Spurs in April – but it's hard to see them being able to lay a glove on a rampant Manchester City side right now.
And with confidence extremely low, it could be damage limitation for Villa.
There should be goals here and it's not impossible Villa could contribute too. The 9/5 from BetVictor on a City win and over 3.5 goals looks to be really good value.
With Haaland so short to score, it's worth a go to see if he can add to his two hat-tricks in a row and him to score at least a brace in Birmingham looks enticing at 11/4 with Ladbrokes.
City were three goals up at half time in midweek and they should comfortably be able to get the job done with a half time and full time win at odds-against – 11/10 with Coral.
This English Premier League match between Aston Villa and Manchester City will be played on Sep 3, 2022 and kick off at 17:30. Check below for our tipsters best Aston Villa vs Manchester City prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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