Manchester City v Aston Villa Betting Tips [12 February 2023]

Manchester City will be determined to keep their title hopes alive when they welcome Aston Villa to the Etihad Stadium for a crucial Premier League clash on Sunday afternoon. The financial fair play controversy involving the defending champions will be put on the back burner for now as they look to bounce back from a defeat in their last match against Spurs, which saw them miss out on an opportunity to close the gap on league leaders Arsenal who were beaten by Everton last weekend. Man City remains in second place, with 45 points in 21 matches, five points behind Arsenal, who also have a game in hand, and two points above Man United, who were also unable to capitalize on a favourable fixture against Leeds. That loss to Spurs was Man City’s second in their last six matches, along with a draw and three wins. Their record at home, though, has been formidable, recording nine wins, one draw, and just one loss in eleven matches at the Etihad Stadium. The hosts have been the vastly superior side in this fixture over recent years and will expect another good result in this match.

Aston Villa followed up an impressive four-match unbeaten streak with a disappointing 4-2 loss to Leicester City in their last match, which saw them pass up the opportunity to move into the top half of the table, ahead of the likes of Liverpool and Chelsea. Aston Villa is in 11th place, with 28 points in 21 matches, six points behind the European Conference League qualification spots. Over their last six matches, Villa has the exact same record as their opponents of three wins, one draw, and two losses. After not registering a single win in their first seven away matches this season, Villa followed it up with three consecutive wins on the road and will be hoping to extend that to four in a row if they can pull off an unlikely win in this one.

While Aston Villa was able to hold on to a 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture, historically, this has been a match that Man City has enjoyed, winning ten of the last twelve encounters and scoring 14 in the last six matches. They will be determined to get back to winning ways after a costly loss in their last match and should come through this match with flying colours. Our Manchester City v Aston Villa prediction is a win for the hosts and over 2.5 goals.