Aston Villa vs Manchester City Prediction 21.12.2024 | Premier League

• Competition: England - Premier League
• Date: Saturday, 21st, December 2024
• Kickoff: 12:30 UK / 13.30 CEST
• Venue: Villa Park (Birmingham)

The opening match of the 17th round of the English Premier League will take place at Villa Park, where Aston Villa will face a faltering Manchester City on Saturday.

Despite having an ideal opportunity to reclaim their place in the Premier League's top four, the Villans instead fell out of the European standings by going down to a narrow 1-2 defeat at the hands of Nottingham Forest last time out. With three games left to play before the end of this year's league commitments, Aston Villa will be looking to climb back into the European places as they sit neck-and-neck on points with Bournemouth, who currently hold the ticket to UEFA's third-tier competition.

Regarding Manchester City, it seems their era of dominance in the Premier League over the past four years is drawing to a close, with their unexpectedly weak form this season putting them nine points adrift of Liverpool, who lead the table with a game in hand. As if the situation wasn't worse enough, the Citizens have yet to show any real sign of getting back into the title race, highlighted last week when they let go of a lead and ended up conceding two late goals to lose the Manchester derby.

Aston Villa vs Manchester City Betting Tips: 1X (DOUBLE CHANCE)

Almost no one could have predicted that they would enter matchday 17 in fifth place, but that is the harsh reality they face right now, and we believe that the clash against the Villans comes at the wrong time for the four-time English champions. What's worse, the Citizens' away form makes for grim reading, with their hard-earned 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace being the only point they have managed to secure from their last seven away games across all competitions, losing the other six. With Guardiola’s side in a slump, their struggles may persist as they head to Villa Park, where Aston Villa has not lost in their last seven Premier League home games, claiming four wins along the way. All in all, we feel that the stubborn Villans can take advantage of Manchester City's current ailing situation and pick up at least one point.