Manchester City vs. Aston Villa – EPL, January 20, 2021

It remains to be seen whether this game will actually go ahead, as Aston Villa has been one of the EPL clubs most severely affected by COVID this season.

But if all is well, Dean Smith will take his side to Manchester knowing that Pep Guardiola’s City is really beginning to get into its stride now.

Villa has been one of the revelations of the EPL this season, vastly improved from last year. But with a lack of games recently – and the fact that it faces City here – there is no real surprise that BetOnline has made the home side such a big favorite to win again on Wednesday.

Kevin De Bruyne played an absolutely delightful cross with the outside of his boot for John Stones to open the scoring against Crystal Palace on Sunday. The Belgium midfielder is starting to look unplayable and could take over this game if Villa does not close him down quickly every time he has the ball.

But Pep Guardiola has a whole host of other playmakers at his disposal if De Bruyne is restricted. Ilkay Gundogan is one of those players – and he scored his fourth goal in just six games at the weekend. City has moved up to second before this week’s fixtures and has proved that it is a real title contender again this season.

Aston Villa has now not played an EPL game since New Year’s Day and was only able to field a team full of youth players in the defeat to Liverpool in the FA Cup a week later. If it is able to fulfill this fixture, there will be a lot of players without much match day experience in the last few weeks.

It is a real shame for Villa, as it was beginning to look as though it might be able to do very well this season. The West Midlands club still sits in tenth with at least three games in hand over most of its rivals. But the fixture backlog will cause problems of its own – and the next few months could be a real slog. 

Aston Villa will be desperate to play this game – but if it does go ahead, I just can’t see it being able to stop Manchester City’s recent fine run of form. Even a Villa side on top of its game and completely match fit would struggle against City at the moment. The odds for the home win are not very attractive, but I can’t see anything but a City win here.