Man City vs Aston Villa preview – form, stats, prediction | OneFootball

Manchester City will put their Champions League aspirations on the line tomorrow night when they take on fellow top-five hopefuls Aston Villa at the Etihad Stadium.

Pep Guardiola’s charges left it late to beat bottom-half Everton 2-0 at Goodison Park on Saturday, climbing to fourth with only five games left.

However, only a point separates the perennial champions from seventh-placed Villa before the kick-off, highlighting the importance of the task ahead.

Failing to secure Champions League football would be an epic failure for a team of Man City’s stature, hence Guardiola’s motivational speech ahead of this ‘must-win’ contest.

The Spaniard urged his side to treat ‘every league game like a final’ in the pre-match press conference, with the Cityzens seemingly picking up a head of steam down the final stretch.

Like their hosts, Unai Emery’s charges approach this fixture in high spirits despite waving goodbye to their impressive Champions League return in the quarter-final last week.

Unfazed by a gut-wrenching exit at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain, Villa humbled high-flying Newcastle United 4-1 at the weekend to move within striking distance of another top-five finish.

Adding to their ongoing five-game winning streak in the Premier League could be a tall order for the visitors, who have often stuttered in away matches against the division’s elite.

Dominant home form

Though Man City have lost their stranglehold on the Premier League after winning an unprecedented four successive titles, they still strike fear into their opponents’ hearts.

Particularly intimidating at the Etihad, Guardiola’s men have won eight of their 11 home outings across all competitions in 2025 (D1, L2), with only Real Madrid and Liverpool beating them on this ground this year.

Villa’s visit bodes well for City’s effort to stay on the upward trajectory and extend their six-match unbeaten run in competitive action (W4, D2), especially when factoring in the recent trend in this match-up.

A landslide 4-1 victory in this corresponding fixture last term marked Man City’s 14th straight home league triumph against Villa, with 13 seeing them score at least twice.

Connoisseurs of action-packed football can expect another goal-glutted encounter, considering City’s home matches this season have featured a league-high 2.38 first-half goals.

Two faces of the same coin

Villa’s purple patch in the Premier League could lead to a common misconception that they’re equally formidable, yet their performances away from Villa Park often paint a very different picture.

Emery’s side will be out to post their first away league triumph against the top-seven teams this season after going winless across their five such games (D1, L4).

Against this backdrop, the visitors have emerged victorious from their last three top-flight matches on hostile turf, keeping a clean sheet in each victory.

Buoyed by this inspiring run of form, Villa can make a piece of club history this Tuesday and post a fourth successive away game in the Premier League without defeat for the first time since 2008/09.

However, not since April 2007 have Villa left Man City’s home venue undefeated, underscoring the magnitude of the task awaiting Emery’s lads this midweek.

Team News

Man City welcomed Manuel Akanji and Phil Foden back from injuries against Everton, but the crisis at the Etihad is not subsiding.

Guardiola cannot call upon long-term absentees Rodri and Nathan Ake, with both players expected to return at the end of the season.

Erling Haaland and John Stones are also out of contention.

In stark contrast, Pau Torres is the only injury concern in the travelling camp after Ross Barkley and Leon Bailey returned to full fitness.

Prediction

Man City’s indomitable home record against Villa paints a grim picture for the visitors, yet the hosts’ win is far from a foregone conclusion.

Villa got the better of the Cityzens in December’s reverse fixture, and it’s hard to put it past them to pull off an upset in Manchester.