As the battle for a place at Europe’s top table intensifies, two of the contenders clash when Manchester City host in-form Aston Villa at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night.
Think back to 28th April 2007… Beyonce and Shakira were number one with Beautiful Liar, Tony Blair was Prime Minister and David Tennant was Doctor Who.
Why is that day so significant? It was the last time Aston Villa won a Premier League game at the Etihad Stadium. John Carew and Shaun Maloney scored the goals in a 2-0 victory for Martin O’Neill’s Villa against Stuart Pearce’s City.
Now the two square off with perhaps Villa’s best chance to end their Eastlands curse in a clash that’s vital in determining where Champions League football will be played in 2025/26.
Qualification for the Champions League is normally a formality for Man City, they’re usually in the middle of a record-breaking winning run to win the league at this stage of the season.
However, that’s not the case this time around as they’re well and truly in a dogfight for the Champions League, but their challenge has been made easier with an additional fifth place for the Premier League.
At the time of writing, just two points separate third and seventh, with two of Villa, City, Newcastle, Nottingham Forest and Chelsea set to miss out on European nights with the likes of Bayern Munich and Barcelona by the skin of their teeth.
Unai Emery’s Villa made a real statement at the weekend with a blockbuster 4-1 win against the Magpies, while Guardiola’s men toughed out a tight game with Everton to win 2-0.
This promises to be a great game and Villa fans may be dreaming of that elusive Etihad triumph, especially given that they had the better of the reverse, a 2-1 victory in December.
We can’t promise that our predictions will be correct, but we’ll give it a crack and hopefully this one will be a midweek cracker.
Man City vs Aston Villa prediction
While history is against them, this is Villa’s best chance of completing a league double over City, something they haven’t done since 1962/63.
City are on a good run in the league, unbeaten in their last five, but there have been several unconvincing performances in that run including one of the worst ever Manchester derbies.
Villa, on the other hand, have won their last five in the league and pushed an excellent PSG side all the way in the Champions League.
They have a great squad and Emery has been able to rotate well which has meant that they have been able to challenge on multiple fronts.
The men from the second city beat City in the reverse and we believe that they can banish their Etihad hoodoo with an entertaining win here.
Man City team news
Erling Haaland is still absent with a foot injury, so will miss this one out as will long-term absentees Rodri and Nathan Ake.Omar Marmoush will likely continue down the middle, while Kevin De Bruyne’s Etihad farewell goes on.
Stefan Ortega will continue to deputise in goal amid Ederson’s injury, while John Stones will also be absent. Nico O’Reilly’s development has been a big part of City’s recent form. Expect the 20-year-old to start once again here.
Man City expected line-up
Aston Villa team news
Unai Emery has the luxury of picking a line-up from a squad that has a clean bill of health. It has been a task in itself guessing how Villa will line up due to his rotation of players in recent weeks.
Expect rotation from the Villa boss, with the likes of Digne and Pau Torres in contention for a return after missing out on the Newcastle win.
Ollie Watkins could line up once again after his goal at the weekend, while Amadou Onana could return to the XI.
Aston Villa expected line-up
Man City vs Aston Villa: How to watch & listen
The game will be televised live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League, while it will also be available on Now. The game will have live radio commentary on Talksport.
Man City vs Aston Villa stats
– Man City have won eight of 11 home games across all competitions in 2025
– Aston Villa have won their last five league games, with an aggregate score of 13-2
– The last time Aston Villa did the double over Man City was in 1962/63
– Man City have won their last eight home games against Villa in all competitions, their last home defeat to the Villans came in the League Cup in 2012 and their last league defeat to them came in 2007
– Heading into this one just one point separates the two, with City fourth on 58 points, while Villa are seventh on 57 points
