Aston Villa v Man City predictions: Gerrard's honeymoon can be extended

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Aston Villa v Manchester City in the Premier League on Wednesday.

Where to watch

Amazon Prime Video, 8.15pm Wednesday

Best bet

Aston Villa or draw double chance
1pt 9-4 bet365

Team news

Aston Villa
Trezeguet (knee) and Bertrand Traore (hamstring) remain sidelined and Danny Ings misses out after suffering a setback in training.

Manchester City
Doubts persist over the fitness of Jack Grealish and Phil Foden, who face late assessments. Kevin De Bruyne (positive Covid-19 test) and Ferran Torres (foot) remain absent and Aymeric Laporte is suspended.

Match preview

Steven Gerrard is off to a flyer in the Aston Villa hotseat thanks to victories at home to Brighton and away to Crystal Palace and he can extend his honeymoon period by helping the Villans avoid defeat against Manchester City.

Villa's recent victories were much needed because, at the time of Gerrard's arrival, they were just two points above the drop zone.

There was a maturity about Villa's performance at Selhurst Park, where they restricted a strong Palace side to few clear-cut opportunities.

John McGinn was their outstanding performer in south London, capping off an all-action midfield display with a superb second goal, and there were strong contributions from centre-backs Ezri Konsa and Tyrone Mings.

The sudden revival of Mings, who was left out of the side for Villa's 4-1 loss to West Ham in October - the last home game of Dean Smith's tenure - is a feather in the cap for Gerrard, who seems to be getting the best out of his key players.

Gerrard also maximised his resources at Rangers, who he led to their first Scottish Premiership title in since 2011, and there is mounting evidence that he could be a top manager in the making.

Getting the better of Pep Guardiola would be one of his best achievements yet and his chances are increased by the likely absences of some key City players.

Kevin De Bruyne and Aymeric Laporte are certain to miss out and the short turnaround may not be ideal given the efforts City expended in recent 2-1 successes at home to Paris St-Germain and West Ham.

The Citizens were worthy winners in each of those matches and they are on a run of seven straight victories against Villa.

However, Guardiola's bench against West Ham featured just eight of the allotted nine substitutes, including two goalkeepers and two 19-year-old academy graduates, and it is imperative that further key injuries are avoided as the club start a hectic schedule.

Villa suffered from the impact of too many injuries when sustaining five successive defeats towards the end of Smith's spell in charge.

However, the arrival of Gerrard has coincided with the return of some influential players and there is every chance of Villa extending their mini-revival with one of their best results of the campaign.

Key stat

Steven Gerrard has not lost any of his last ten competitive games as a manager

Inside info

Aston Villa

Penalty taker Danny Ings
Free-kick wizard John McGinn
Set-piece aerial threat Tyrone Mings
Card magnet John McGinn

Manchester City

Penalty taker Riyad Mahrez
Free-kick wizardIlkay Gundogan
Set-piece aerial threatJohn Stones
Card magnetRodri

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