Aston Villa stand in way of Manchester City taking advantage of wobbling Arsenal

Pep Guardiola spent much of his pre-match press conference talking about the Premier League’s charges brought against Manchester City for alleged financial irregularities.

The Spaniard took a defensive posture and said that, in his eyes, the club is innocent until proven guilty. While the over 100 charges could be troubling the manager, his immediate concern will be to find a way to beat Aston Villa on Sunday (February 12).

Manchester City’s Premier League defence hasn’t gone according to plan thus far, with Arsenal surprisingly seizing the initiative as pace-setters. Despite the Gunners sitting six points clear at the top, Manchester City remain the favourites to retain their title.

Guardiola’s side have been limping in recent months, but they still boast the best squad in the country, and that could be the difference-maker in the title race.

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We are City, 𝙎𝙐𝙋𝙀𝙍 City! 🗣

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Manchester City aim to return to winning ways

Arsenal haven’t been at their best for a while now. but the fact that they hold a healthy lead at the top shows that their rivals have not given them enough competition.

Manchester City, in particular, have been culpable in this regard, and their 1-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur last week is a vivid case in point. The Cityzens have dropped too points in games they would’ve won last season.

Now, though, they're aiming to recover from their loss to Spurs and return to winning ways against Aston Villa. Unai Emery’s side are one of the most improved teams in the Premier League this season and would be a hard nut to crack.

For a side that have already beaten Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and Brentford this season, Aston Villa have proven to be no pushovers even against the top sides.

🔜 City v Villa! https://t.co/C6uDgF1ldD

The onus, therefore, lies with Manchester City to play above themselves to get the win. The Cityzens may be the fauvorites, but this is one of those games where an upset can’t be completely ruled out.

Cityzens must close gap on stuttering Arsenal

Manchester City vs Tottenham Hotspur - Premier League

Having gone winless in their last three Premier League games, the Gunners appear vulnerable and could see their lead at the top reduced by the end of the weekend.

That adds further significance to the game between Aston Villa and Manchester City. It;s a fixture that could decide who wins the title, and Guardiola’s side must take full advantage.

Taking three points from the Clarets will see the Manchester club move to within just three points of Arsenal ahead of their top-of-the-table clash against Mikel Arteta’s side on Wednesday (February 15). It’s a must-win game for Manchester City, as Guardiola pointed out to talkSPORT:

“We lost to Spurs. The rest was quite good; FA Cup and Premier League. The game v Spurs was not bad. We need more consistency. We are going to try and start on Sunday. The players will be focused on our game. That is for sure. We have to try to beat them and the players will be focused on the game. They are good in both sides (defensively and offensively).”

As outlandish as it may sound, Manchester City could be level on points with Arsenal by the time their game against the Gunners on Wednesday ends. However, they must first take care of Aston Villa at the Etihad, which could make or break their title hopes.