Ruben Dias has shared what the Manchester City players think about Aston Villa ahead of tonight’s Premier League clash between the two sides.
After failing to beat Arsenal in their previous league outing and having to settle for a 0-0 draw, the Blues have another big game ahead of them this evening against Villa.
Ahead of what is yet another key match in City’s title charge, one member of Pep Guardiola’s squad has revealed what the players feel about this game and their upcoming opponents.
Dias previews Man City vs Villa
Speaking to the club’s media ahead of tonight’s match, Dias had this to say about Villa.
He said: “We can see how good they’ve been just by looking at the table. We know it’s going to be a really tough game and we’ll need to be at our best if we want to overcome it. They’re playing really well so we’re prepared for a demanding game.”
As things stand, the Villans are one place and five points behind City, although have played one game more than the Treble winners.
Back in December, Unai Emery’s side beat the Citizens 1-0 at Villa Park thanks to a second-half goal from Leon Bailey.
Taking into account how Villa have the third-highest percentage of shots on target (36.7%) in the league this season and the joint-second-highest rate of goals per shot (0.13), this highlights how dangerous they are and what sort of problems they can cause for City tonight.
However, with Emery revealing that Ollie Watkins, who is Villa’s top scorer with 16 league goals to his name, will be unavailable for this match at the Etihad Stadium through injury, this will definitely be a big blow for the away side and have a negative impact on their attacking power.
Despite that, we agree with Dias that tonight’s game will be a tough one for City, but one they will need to win if they want to keep themselves in the frame to potentially regain the Premier League title.
