Manchester City vs Aston Villa

Only rivals United have a better home record than Manchester City in the Premier League while nobody has won more away matches than Aston Villa in the top flight. The pair meet at Eastlands on Wednesday and it should be a decent encounter.

As I alluded to before their Uefa Cup defeat last Thursday in Moscow, I get the feeling that Villa’s season is coming apart at the seems just when it matters most and their late capitulation on home soil against Stoke in the top flight on Sunday confirmed my suspicions. Martin O’Neill’s men were two up with minutes to play only to surrender a valuable lead, and a couple of points in the process, and may still have that in the back of their minds when they take on Mark Hughes’ team.

City were dreadful again on their travels at Upton Park on Sunday, when beaten 1-0 by West Ham, but are a different proposition altogether in the north west where they are always to be feared. The Citizens are usually brilliant or ordinary but rarely go two matches without putting in some sort of performance and can take advantage of opponents that are seemingly on the slide.

With Arsenal winning 3-1 at West Brom on Tuesday Villa’s cushion in fourth is now just three points and they possess very few players used to such a pressurised situation. O’Neill has put all his eggs in next season’s Champions League basket but I get the feeling it is almost certain to be egg on face time for the Northern Irishman come the end of the campaign and that is a great shame. Villa have been a breath of fresh air this season and I’d love to see them qualify for the world’s most prestigious club competition.

I’m tempted to get stuck into City at the 2.75 on offer but the better bet is to make do with the odds against still available about them in the draw no bet market on Betfair. That looks very good value and I’ll be very surprised if I have to surrender all of my stake.

Robinho’s absence is a worry but the rest of his chums are nearly always up for it in front of their home fans. They may lack a creative spark but with Villa failing to score in two of their three matches one goal could well be enough for all three points.