The Citizens find themselves far behind Manchester United in the standings, so they certainly cannot afford to get anything but a victory during their visit of Aston Villa on Monday.
Premier League Tips
Odds Overview
In spite of being at home in storied Villa Park, the Villans
are considered 5/1 underdogs against City on Monday.
That leaves the Citizens as 1/2 favorites, with a draw at
57/20. Right now, the OVER 2.5 goals is getting more love (5/7) than is the
UNDER (11/10). Truth be told, we don't see a lot of goals in this one, but
we've certainly been wrong before.
Check out more live soccer betting odds lines at SBRodds.com.
Aston Villa
The Villans are in the midst of a battle to stay in the top
flight. They're currently in the relegation zone, but there's still plenty of
time for them to reach safety.
Things were looking up when Villa beat West Ham 2-1 at home,
but two weekends later they couldn't overcome Arsenal, losing 2-1 at Emirates
Stadium. Andreas Weimann scored for the Villans, but two goals from Santi
Cazorla doomed the visitors.
The road doesn't get any easier now though, as the Villans
play host to a mega-talented Manchester City outfit
Villa's home record isn't going to scare many. They've
scored a paltry 11 goals in 13 matches at Villa Park, while giving up 19.
The Villans have been getting most of their goals from
Christian Benteke, not the bigger names like Gabriel Agbonhalor, Darren Bent or
Charles N'Zogbia. Benteke is pacing Villa with 11 goals and four assists in
Premier League play, both of which are team-highs.
Manchester City
The Citizens are 12 points behind Manchester United for the
top spot in the Premier League, so it's going to take a miracle for them to win
the title this season.
It's been a while since City was playing away from
Manchester. Their latest two fixtures were at home, the first a 4-0 win over
Leeds in the FA Cup and the second a 2-0 Premier League victory over Chelsea.
No matter what, a win over a top side like the Blues is
always a good scalp. Yaya Toure and Carlos Tevez got the goals for the
Citizens, who also looked very sound defensively. Kole Toure, Pablo Zabaleta,
Matija Nastasic and Gael Clichy got the job done.
On the surface, you'd have to think City's back-line, along
with Joe Hart, have an excellent chance at another clean sheet against a Villa
outfit that's been misfiring in front of goal all season long.
As for the Citizens' form away from home, they've been
solid. They've only lost two of 13 away matches, while surrendering just 13
total goals.
Premier League Pick
Mancini has come out and said that this match is a must-win
for City, but they've really had a hard time finding the back of the net
outside of Manchester.
Still, all signs are pointing towards a win for Mancini's
team on Monday. They've regained some confidence with two consecutive victories
and have already easily beaten Villa in the league this season.
Back in the middle of November, City won 5-0 at home over
the Villans. It was complete domination from start to finish, with both Tevez
and Sergio Aguero getting braces and David Silva also getting in on the
goalscoring.
In the end, we see a narrow Citizens’ win here, but we
actually think the best value may be on playing the UNDER 2.5 goals at 11/10 for your soccer picks.
Villa will likely be on the backfoot in hopes they can get the draw and we
simply don't foresee a lot of goals here.
Soccer Picks: Aston Villa 0 Manchester City 2
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