Aston Villa vs Man. City Match preview

England - Premier League: Aston Villa vs Man. City

Both of these teams play in Uefa Cup in midweek, and it will be interesting to see how they will cope with playing two games in three games, at the start of the season. Aston Villa had a very good season and looks to build on that success, as they brought no less than six new players. Mark Hughes took over at Manchester City, but the beginning of his reign was marked by turbulences at the club. We will see who will come out fresher from the midweek game, and if City is affected by domestic problems.

Villa is flourishing under O’Neill

Ever since Martin O’Neill took over, the team has continued to progress. Last season they played beautiful football and the results followed, finishing sixth in the overall standings. Team played fast attacking football, and even the title contenders had a lot of troubles against Villa. O’ Neill wants to improve from last season, and six new players joined the club. Steve Sidwell, Nickey Shorey and Carlos Cuellar are some of them, and if captain Barry decides to stay, they will be really strong. Wilfred Bouma will be injured for a long time, while Sidwell is expected to miss this game. The team will certainly not lack motives to win this game.

Hughes is focused on the pitch

After Eriksson decided to quit, the club appointed very promising manager Mark Hughes, who had a lot of success at Blackburn. Brazilian forward Jo, and Tal Ben Haim joined the club. Hughes faced some problems when he arrived to the club, and he was angry with the board for trying to sell some players without his knowledge. Now the club is in the midst of a new crisis, as there are speculations that the owner is trying to sell the club. Hughes is trying to concentrate on his job but it isn’t easy. He will be without Darius Vassel, who will be out for ten weeks, and Benjamin Mwaruwari, who is also injured, while Jo is still at the Olympics.

Betting verdict

Both teams will have less than 72 hours to prepare for this game as they play in the qualifying round of the UEFA Cup. Villa wants to continue where they left off last year, and start the season with a win. The visitors have a lot of problems in the club, and it will be difficult for them to focus solely on football. Mark Hughes will try to inspire his players to win the game, but we think that will not be enough. The visitors will be short of strikers while the home team will have almost full squad. We recommend netting on home win.

Our tip: Bet 8 on Home win
Odds 2 at
Bookmaker: Gamebookers