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Manchester city have drawn their two consecutive matches which does not tell too good about them. So they would use this opportunity to have all three points by winning Aston Villa, no matter the scenario that would play out on the match day.
Those two draws were to Liverpool (away game) and Arsenal (at home). As much as the latter draw was a bit disappointing, I wouldn't take those draws as a sign of failure or dip in form. We all know that those three teams are on similar level, so those results are not surprising.
All three will have some challenging games to play and it's almost certain that all three will lose some points before the end of the season, but yeah, City needs to defeat teams like Villa (especially at home) if they want to defend their title. Odds for the City to win are estimated at 77%, so they're a strong favourite here.