The narrative following Sunday’s bore draw/intriguing tactical battle between Arsenal and Manchester City settled largely upon the argument that the Premier League champions have seldom been held at an arms’ length quite like this.
It’s certainly not often Man City are restricted to just one single shot on target over 90-plus minutes. But, lest we forget, Aston Villa did a similar job on Pep Guardiola’s side back in December. In fact, they actually went one step further, defeating City 1-0 thanks to a brilliant Leon Bailey winner while limiting their star-studded visitors to only two attempts throughout the entire evening.
And Guardiola can hardly have been more glowing in his praise of Wednesday night’s opponents, Unai Emery’s Aston Villa side looking to deliver a further blow to City’s title hopes and complete a first league double over the north west outfit since 1962/63.
Manchester City host Aston Villa at Etihad
“(Villa are) excellent the way they play,” Guardiola said ahead of this evening’s 8.15pm kick-off. “Unai Emery and the consistency in every season… Villa is impressive and always he has done really well.
“It’s not a surprise the quality of him and his management and the quality of the team.”
Despite winning just one of their last three games, Aston Villa remain in pole position for a Champions League spot. Tottenham Hotspur missed the chance to draw level on points as they slipped up at West Ham United, though Villa’s hopes of a statement win at the Etihad will be impacted by the loss of top scorer Ollie Watkins to injury.
Emery may opt to bring in Jhon Duran up top. This is, furthermore, a Villa side with real quality in a number of positions, boasting the World Cup-winning goalkeeper Emi Martinez, genuine matchwinners in Bailey and Moussa Diaby, and one of Europe’s most complete central midfielders in Douglas Luiz.
The latter spent two years as a City player between 2017 and 2019. He never made a first-team appearance for the club due to the lack of a work permit, however, and was sold to Villa in a £15 million deal.
Unai Emery’s side want a Champions League place
“They have really good set-pieces and transitions with the two incredible fast players up front,” Guardiola adds.
“The shape is really clear what they do. They can do high pressing and afterwards defend very well with a back four or back five and a really structured line. (Martinez is an) exceptional keeper.”
“(Luiz and I) met a little bit and he seemed like an exceptional guy. For the work permit, it was not possible to be with us. After making steps, (on loan at) Girona and other places, he settled perfectly at Villa.
“I’m happy for him. He’s playing really good.”
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