Bet of the Day: Aston Villa v Man City: Buendia can play part in 8/1 Bet Builder

Hosts motoring after slow start

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Saturday 24 October, 12:30
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Last season, Aston Villa were incredibly slow out of the blocks but used Europe as a catalyst to get them up and running - and eventually flying - domestically.

It's been the exact same story this time. Villa managed just one point from their first four Premier League matches before turning the corner and they're now second in the 36-team Champions League group table after starting their European campaign with three straight wins.

The 3-1 victory over Viking on Wednesday night made it five wins and a draw in their last six games in all competitions.

That was exactly the same streak they were on when hosting Man City in the Premier League last October.

On that occasion, a Matty Cash strike in the 19th minute secured all three points so, given those intriguing similarities between this season and last, will history repeat itself on Saturday lunchtime?

Premier League Matchday 8: Opta stats and tips for every game

100% City chasing Chelsea record

It's easy to forget that Man City were 1-0 down to Bournemouth with 83 minutes on the clock in their Premier League opener at the Etihad. Enzo Maresca cut an anxious figure. Is that what life after Pep would be.

But after turning that game around with two late goals, City haven't stopped winning. They've since beaten Crystal Palace, Coventry, Man Utd, Sunderland, Liverpool and Ipswich to make it 21 points out of 21. It's the third best start to the season in Premier League history, two shy of Chelsea's record from 2004-5.

If looking to poke holes, five of those beaten teams are 13th or lower in the table.

And, of course, they've done this after being found guilty of breaching Premier League financial rules which could result in automatic relegation or a massive points reduction.

City had already lost two Premier League games when they went to Villa last Ocotober so they look a more intimidating prospect this time.

Aston Villa v Man City Tip 1 - Hosts to halt winning run

While you can't argue with 21 points out of 21, are City really so dominant that they deserve to be backed blindly until the run ends?

Probably not. The fixture list has been favourable and now they go up against one of the Premier League's hottest sides.

Not only are Villa in excellent form, they've also got some impressive recent history against City. Unai Emery's men did the double over them last season, winning 1-0 at Villa Park and 2-1 at the Etihad.

Widening it out beyond 2025/2026, Villa have won four of the last six meetings and each of the last three against City at Villa Park.

The current iteration of City obviously deserves huge respect but the loss of Antoine Semenyo to injury is a clear blow so there's good reason to think Villa can halt the leaders' streak.

Taking a single point or all three are both viable so I'll head to the Double Chance market and back Aston Villa and Draw at 11/102.11.

Aston Villa v Man City Tip 2 - Trio to combine in Bet Builder

Elliot Anderson has settled in extremely well at Manchester City.

And, stats-wise, something jumps out: the fouls against him far outweigh the fouls he makes.

Looking at his Fouls Drawn stats, the make-up in his last five Premier League games are: 3-8-2-4-3. The eight was at Anfield.

Anderson is 2/13.00 To Be Fouled 3 Or More Times and, as you can see above, that's landed in four of his last five top-flight starts. Emery will look to press City and Anderson's role at the base of midfield makes him a very likely target.

I'll also add in a couple of players to test the goalkeeper at some point.

Emiliano Buendia has had five shots on target in his last four matches and he could well be on penalty duties again after slotting home from the spot against Viking.

He attemped seven shots against the Norwegians so loves to pull the trigger.

For Manchester City, Rayan Cherki is the pick. In the City side, only Erling Haaland has attempted more shots and had more on target than Cherki when looking through the visitors' stats.

Four of Cherki's shots on target have come on the road which helps argue his case for another here.

The Frenchman with the dancing feet can help land an 8/19.00 Bet Builder.

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