Manchester City welcome Aston Villa to the Etihad Stadium in a crucial clash on the final day of 2021-22 Premier League season.
Victory would see Man City clinch the title for a second consecutive season, whilst Villa can finish 10th with a win if Brighton, Brentford, Newcastle and Crystal Palace all lose elsewhere.
Team News
Kyle Walker is set to return for Man City after recovering from an ankle injury which has kept him out for the last month.
John Stones (muscle) could also feature but Ruben Dias (hamstring) and Benjamin Mendy (personal) remain absent.
Villa have no fresh injury concerns to report as Ezri Konsa (knee), Kortney Hause (abdominal) and Leon Bailey (ankle) remain absent.
Stat Attack
- Man City have dropped just two points in their last 10 league meetings against Aston Villa (W9, D1).
- Villa have lost each of their last 11 Premier League visits to Man City (L11).
- City’s Ilkay Gundogan has scored in each of their last two home matches against Villa.
- Man City have used 4-3-3 formation in 51 of 57 matches in all competitions this season.
- John McGinn has created more shooting opportunities than any other Villa player in Premier League this season, having created 91 shooting chances in 34 appearances.
Prediction
With the title destiny in their own hands, Man City simply can’t afford a repeat of last weekend’s frustrating first-half display at West Ham which saw poor defensive marking, although they did show great determination to fight back for a draw even if their two goals were fairly lucky.
Villa meanwhile come into this match with their own frustrations after dominating Burnley on Thursday evening only to be denied by several saves from Nick Pope, which will surely fire them up to try and finish the season on a high with a shock win to end their away hoodoo at City.
I however can’t see Man City not winning this if they’re at their best but Villa are in decent form even though they do waste chances, which will likely be their downfall in this game where they simply have to be clinical against a tough home team.
Prediction: Manchester City 2-0 Aston Villa
Result: Manchester City 3-2 Aston Villa
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