Manchester City vs Aston Villa

An enthralling Premier League campaing boils down to this season-defining encounter between pacesetters Manchester City and bottom-half Aston Villa at the Etihad Stadium.

Manchester City are on the verge of winning their fourth Premier League title in five years, though they have yet to finish the job. Coming into the ultimate round of fixtures, the ‘Cityzens’ hold a single-point lead on second-placed Liverpool and need to beat Villa to secure the title regardless of the Reds’ result against Wolverhampton Wanderers. Pep Guardiola’s men have been ruthless against Villa, winning nine of their last ten top-flight H2Hs (D1), including the last six on the spin. Additionally, since a dismal 3-2 loss to Tottenham Hotspur in mid-February, Man City have gone unbeaten in their subsequent five home Premier League matches (W4, D1), winning the last three in a row by an aggregate score of 13-1. Home and away, the reigning English champions have lost just one of their 27 previous Premier League games (W22, D4).

In the meantime, Aston Villa’s bid to assure a first top-half Premier League finish since 2010/11 is on thin ice, as they sit three points adrift of 10th-placed Brighton & Hove Albion. That means the ‘Lions’ need to beat Man City for the first time since 2013 and hope the other results go their way. However, Steven Gerrard’s lads have developed a habit of faltering against top-flight leaders, going winless in 20 of their last 21 Premier League away meetings with table-topping sides (D3, L17). Yet, Villa pulled off a 3-1 win at relegation-battling Burnley in their most recent away league fixture, ending a run of three Premier League travels without winning (D1, L2).