Manchester City will be hoping to end a run of successive defeats to Aston Villa as they travel to Villa Park on Sunday afternoon. The Blues lost 1-0 in December 2023 to end a run of eight matches unbeaten
in Birmingham, then followed that up almost a year later with a 2-1 defeat.
Up until then, points at Villa Park had become a formality, with City winning six out of eight matches at Villa since 2014. However, the Villans have toughened up against the Blues and will be hoping for a hat-trick of home victories over Pep Guardiola’s side.
Form
Villa currently sit in 12th place in the Premier League having won three and lost two of their eight matches so far. The Villans got their season off to a poor start, failing to score in any of their first four matches, losing to and managing goalless draws in the other two.
Having been dumped out of the League Cup on penalties to Brentford, Villa scored their first goal of the season at Sunderland in a 1-1 draw, and have since scored in every match. At the end of September, they recorded their first win of the season, beating Fulham 3-1 at Villa Park, and have since scored victories at home to Burnley (2-1) and away to Spurs (1-2).
However, they came crashing down to earth on Thursday night when they suffered a shock 2-1 defeat at Dutch side Go Ahead Eagles in the Europa League.
At home, Villa have won two, drawn one and lost one of their four matches so far, scoring five, conceding five and keeping one clean sheet. Villa have also failed to score twice this season at Villa Park.
Danger Men
Emiliano Buendia is Villa’s top scorer so far this season with two goals to his name. Buendia has featured in seven matches for Villa, and has attempted 11 shots at goal. The Argentine midfielder is currently averaging a goal every two games and last scored in the 2-1 win at Spurs last weekend.
Donyell Malen, who signed last January from Borussia Dortmund, also has two goals this season. He has attempted nine shot from eight matches and has a slightly better goal ratio than Buendia. Malen’s last goal for Villa was a brace in the 2-1 home win over Burnley three weeks ago.
Morgan Rogers is leading the Villa charge with assists. So far he has created seven chances with two taken, while Boubacar Kamara also has two assists from four chances created. Lucas Digne has two assists to his name and creates 1.1 chances per match.
The Boss
Former Arsenal boss Unai Emery is the man trying to restore Villa’s fortunes. The Spaniard joined Villa in October 2022 and led them to a seventh-place finish. The following season, Emery led Villa to fourth in the Premier League and Champions League football and the semi-final of the Conference League, where they reached the quarter-final. Villa also reached the FA Cup semi-final, losing out to eventual winners Crystal Palace.
Emery has a decent record at Villa Park. He has presided over 152 matches, winning 81 and losing 42, giving him an impressive win ratio of 53%.
Last Time Out
Villa took advantage of City’s poor form last season when they recorded a 2-1 win at Villa Park. Jhon Duran scored after 16 minutes and Morgan Rogers doubled the lead on 65. Phil Foden pulled a goal back in injury time but it wasn’t enough to stop another defeat.
