Manchester City vs Aston Villa Prediction: Villa’s party and peace out to Pep

Manchester City host Aston Villa in a Premier League match that has taken on a new significance for each side this week (4pm BST, Sky Sports Action). The Cityzens had hoped to scoop the league title at the last possible second, but their final day has gone from dramatic to emotional. 

City’s draw with Bournemouth handed Arsenal the Premier League trophy, while news emerged that Pep Guardiola will be leaving the Etihad at the end of the season after a dazzling decade in charge. Meanwhile, Aston Villa’s 3-0 win over Freiburg in Istanbul clinched the Europa League trophy. The Villans have secured their return to the Champions League and will be in a party mood no matter the result at Eastlands. Read on for my Manchester City vs Aston Villa predictions.

Team News

City boast a clean bill of health ahead of this historical curtain-closer. Josko Gvardiol is available for selection after four months on the sidelines with a tibial fracture. 

The main focus will be on the home dugout at the Etihad, as Guardiola takes charge of his last game as Manchester City manager. The longest-serving boss in England’s top four divisions bids farewell after racking up six Premier League titles and that elusive Champions League for City, along with over a dozen other trophies.

Football Odds

There is a manager who knows an awful lot about trophies residing in the other dugout. Unai Emery led Villa to the Europa League title on Wednesday night. The Spaniard extends his personal record as the most prolific manager in the competition after lifting the trophy for the fifth time.

Emery is missing Boubacar Kamara (knee) and Alysson (adductor). Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez broke his finger in the warm-up in Istanbul and kept a clean sheet to help steer his side to the trophy. With Champions League qualification boxed off, one expects Dibu will be rested with one eye on his participation for Argentina at the World Cup.

Manchester City vs Aston Villa Odds

Guardiola has done much to position Man City as near-perennial favourites for every match they play. That tradition continues in his swansong as City are weighted at 1/3 while Villa are underdogs at 7/1. The draw is marketed at 9/2. 

Manchester City to win and both teams to score @ 6/5

City always end their season with a bang. Only Brentford have beaten them on the final day of a Guardiola season in the Premier League. After Villa’s European exertions in midweek, one expects the blue-clad machine to channel their frustration into a victory at the Etihad.

Pep’s last outing as Man City boss will add some impetus that might have been lost after the Bournemouth draw and Arsenal’s crowning. This is sure to be an occasion.

Villa will have something to say about it, too. They stuck four past Liverpool last time out in the league and hit Freiburg for three on Wednesday night. They’ve got goals in them, but I feel like a fresher City will seal the deal. 

Erling Haaland to score first @ 15/8

Hardly groundbreaking to choose the man on the cusp of a third Premier League Golden Boot to open his side’s account here. That is, of course, barring six goals from Igor Thiago for Brentford against Liverpool. Yeah, I don’t see it to be honest.

Haaland is inevitable, like people moaning about the finale of a popular TV show. But unlike the blue-clad, blonde maniac from the dearly departed Amazon Prime juggernaut The Boys, I don’t think anyone is defeating this tower of power before the credits roll.

Chalk one up to Erling Haaland before he inevitably flies off and scores about a million goals at the World Cup. 

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