Aston Villa vs Man City LIVE: Premier League result and final score as Leon Bailey nets crucial winner
Aston Villa 1-0 Man City: Unai Emery’s men clinched a close encounter at Villa Park
Aston Villa take on Manchester City in a clash between two sides nearing the top of the Premier League table. Villa have won nine of their 14 league matches under Unai Emery this season and could jump ahead of City if they beat them at Villa Park tonight.
Forward Ollie Watkins has been in great touch scoring eight goals and the hosts will need his clinical touch if they are going to take points away from Pep Guardiola’s side.
Manchester City in contrast are going through something of a slump. A 3-3 draw against Tottenham was their third stalemate in a row meaning City are six points behind league leaders Arsenal.
Three points are a must for the reigning champions if they want to keep up the apce with the Gunners.
Follow the latest action from the Premier League below.
Aston Villa vs Manchester City
It may have been City dominating possession, but Villa are intent on making the most of it when they do get the ball. Bailey twists away from Gvardiol to square it to Luiz. He's forced to rush his shot, and the deflection takes the power off it.
Aston Villa vs Manchester City
City work it forward in a couple of touches from Walker's throw-in, with Haaland threading it through to Foden. He peels off the back of Carlos before firing on goal from a tight angle. Martinez gets two hands behind it as a belated offside flag goes up.
Aston Villa vs Manchester City
Villa haven't lose any of the 13 Premier League games under Emery that have been level at half-time, winning nine of those and drawing the other four.
Aston Villa vs Manchester City
Watkins intercepts Akanji's pass, sweeping it out to Digne on the left before continuing his run into the box. The Frenchman tries to return it to him, but Dias gets in the way of the cross.
Aston Villa vs Manchester City
City have dominated possession since the restart and they're looking to break Villa down early here. They patiently work it out to the right, but Walker has a slight tug at Digne to lose him, resulting in a free-kick to the hosts.
Aston Villa vs Manchester City
Villa get us back under way for the second half!
Aston Villa vs Manchester City
It was almost a perfect first-half performance by Villa, with only a goal missing to cap it off. Emery will be urging them to keep up their high level as it's rattled City, causing them a lot of problems. Guardiola's men made a lot of uncharacteristic mistakes, which is something the manager will be looking to rectify. He may even look to his bench to add something different, especially since Villa comfortably won the battle in midfield.
Aston Villa vs Manchester City
It's goalless at the break between Villa and City, though how there haven't been any goals is anyone's guess! The hosts have been brilliant, keeping City under pressure, and forcing Ederson into some great saves to keep out Bailey, Torres, McGinn and Watkins. Luiz thought he had broken the deadlock just before the break with a header that just crept in, but it was disallowed as the ball was out of play in the build-up. At the other end, Martinez made an excellent double save to keep out Haaland, but those were City's only chances.
Aston Villa vs Manchester City
HALF-TIME: ASTON VILLA 0-0 MANCHESTER CITY.
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