On Wednesday afternoon, Manchester City (9 wins, 2 losses, 2 draws) travels to Villa Park to take on Aston Villa (5-7-1). Kickoff is scheduled for 3:15 p.m. ET. Below, we preview the Aston Villa vs. Manchester City odds and lines, and make our best EPL bets, picks and predictions.
Manchester City is coming off a win Sunday over fourth-placed West Ham. City is currently sitting in 2nd place with 29 points, just one behind Chelsea.
City’s star midfielders Kevin de Bruyne and Jack Grealish and F Phil Foden are all doubtful to play Wednesday. The Citizens will again likely rely on F Raheem Sterling to produce.
Aston Villa has won two straight matches with victories over Brighton & Hove Albion and most recently a 2-1 defeat of Crystal Palace Saturday.
Villa will be without its leader F Danny Ings and is currently in 13th place with 18 goals scored and allowed 21 conceded.
Aston Villa vs. Manchester City: Odds, picks and predictions
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 8:07 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Aston Villa +700 (bet $100 to win $700) | Manchester City -260 (bet $260 to win $100) | Draw +400
- Over/Under: 2.5 (O: -140 | U: +112)
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Prediction
Manchester City 2, Aston Villa 0
Money line (ML)
PASS.
While I wanted to “lean” to Manchester City (-260) the value just isn’t necessarily conducive to the risk being taken.
I do think BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE “NO” (-135) has some value, especially given how dominant Man City’s defense has been.
Considering one of the three players that lead Aston Villa’s attack (all tied with 3 goals) is out, City’s defense should be able to lock in on other threats.
City’s defense is one of just two to allow single-digit goals so far this season, having given up just 7 across its 13 matches. Betting against goals is the smarter move with Ings and two of Manchester’s key offensive-minded midfielders all sidelined.
Over/Under (O/U)
“LEAN” to the UNDER 2.5 (+112) as the better side of the total.
Behind Sterling and quality midfielder İlkay Gündoğan City should be able to get on the board, but it would be shocking to see them put up three or more goals without de Bruyne and Grealish in the lineup.
Combine that with Ings’ absence and a formidable City defense, and I would rather bet that both attacks struggle with City scoring a couple of times but not putting up 3 or more.
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