Pundits agree about Man City vs Aston Villa prediction

Pundits Chris Sutton and Paul Merson have both predicted that Aston Villa will lose to Manchester City this weekend.

Unai Emery has won five of his first eight Premier League matches, but his side were downed 4-2 to Leicester City at home last time out. Villa remain in touching distance of the top half of the league, while five points separate them from the top seven.

Their opponents on Sunday (4:30pm), Manchester City, have lost two of their last four league matches and were beaten 1-0 at Tottenham last weekend. Though, Sutton and Merson both agree that City will get back to winning ways against Villa.

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CHRIS SUTTON

Sutton said in his BBC predictions: “At the start of the season I felt like I could predict Manchester City games with my eyes closed. Not any more. Pep Guardiola’s side missed a massive chance to put the pressure on Arsenal when they lost at Tottenham last weekend. Their drop-off in form this season has not been in the same bracket as Liverpool’s, but I look at them and wonder when they are going to turn the corner, performance-wise.

“There is this great debate about whether Erling Haaland has made them better or worse but I don’t see him as the problem. Too many of the City players around him have seen their levels dip, and the team have not been playing at their usual tempo or with their normal slickness of passing.

“I still think they will beat Aston Villa, and I also believe Haaland will score, but it might be a slog. We know how hard Unai Emery’s sides can be to break down, and they will carry a threat too.

“What should help City is that their fans will be in defiant mood after the club were hit with 100-plus charges by the Premier League at the start of the week.

“There will be a siege mentality at Etihad Stadium and that should create the kind of atmosphere that Guardiola has been asking for recently. It will be the same in the dressing room too, if the players think everyone is against them, and that should fire them up.”

Sutton’s prediction: Manchester City 2-0 Aston Villa

PAUL MERSON

“When you need to try and break a team down in a big game, no one does it better than De Bruyne. That decision backfired terribly against Tottenham, and I was quite shocked that he was left on the bench.

“If Arsenal win against Brentford, Man City have to win this match. They’ll have to win this game and then concentrate on Wednesday’s game against Arsenal. I was shocked by Aston Villa’s result last week.

“Manchester City will have to win this game, and I expect them to get all three points this weekend.”

Merson’s prediction: Manchester City 2-0 Aston Villa

What is your score prediction for City vs Villa? Tell us in the comments section

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