Mark Lawrenson makes surprise scoreline prediction for Aston Villa vs Manchester City

Liverpool legend Mark Lawrenson believes Manchester City will edge Aston Villa 2-1 when the two teams meet this week. The two teams will clash at Villa Park in a Premier League encounter on Wednesday, December 7.

City enter this game third in the league standings with 30 points from 13 matches, six behind leaders Arsenal, who have played a game more. Pep Guardiola's side have drawn each of their last three league fixtures, conceding eight goals in those outings.

Villa, meanwhile, are fourth in the table and hot on the Citizens' heels, with only a point separating the two teams. They have won two and drawn one of their last three Premier League games, and more impressively, have won all six of their league matches at home.

Given their impressive record at Villa Park and Manchester City's recent wobble, some believe Unai Emery's men could come away a point or three on Wednesday. However, Lawrenson feels City, who will be without Rodri and Jack Grealish through suspension, could still have too much for the Villans.

He wrote in his prediction column for betting company Paddy Power:

"Rodri and Grealish are suspended for Manchester City but they’ve got great depth. I’ll go for City to just about win this 2-1, even accounting for Villa’s great home form and their great manager Unai Emery. They’ll just keep the ball and Villa’s high line might be exposed."

Villa enter this match on the back of a 2-2 draw away to Bournemouth, a game in which they came back from a goal down twice. They are the Premier League's joint second-highest goalscorers with 33 goals, but have also conceded 20 times, the joint highest among the top seven.

City, meanwhile, played out a thrilling 3-3 home draw with Tottenham Hotspur in their last match. Guardiola's men came down from a 1-0 deficit to lead 2-1 and even led 3-2 late in the game before Dejan Kulusevski netted a 90th-minute equalizer.

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Manchester City beat and drew with Aston Villa once apiece last season

Manchester City posted an unbeaten record against Aston Villa in the Premier League last season, winning once and drawing once.

The two teams' first meeting was at Villa Park in September last year, less than four months after City's thrilling 3-2 win on the final day of the 2021-22 season. Erling Haaland gave the visitors a 50th-minute lead, but Leon Bailey netted 24 minutes later to ensure the honors were even.

Their second clash, this time at the Etihad Stadium, came in February this year. Rodri put Manchester City ahead in the fourth minute before Ilkay Gundogan (35') and a Riyad Mahrez penalty (45+1') gave the hosts a comfortable lead at half-time. Ollie Watkins scored a 61st-minute consolation for Villa, who lost the game 3-1.