- Paul Merson offers score prediction for Man City vs Aston Villa
- Reveals why hosts have the advantage on Sunday
- Citizens left with nothing to play for after Bournemouth draw
Manchester City host Aston Villa in their final match of the Premier League season, and Paul Merson has explained why the home team should be taking all three points.
It has been a brilliant season for Man City, with two trophies delivered in what might have been Pep Guardiola’s final campaign at the club.
The Citizens defied the odds to defeat Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final, and followed this up with an FA Cup triumph last Saturday.
However, the Premier League has been a step too far, with their draw against Bournemouth handing the title to the Gunners.
Paul Merson predicts Man City to beat Aston Villa
Despite City’s motivation to win being snatched away in midweek, Paul Merson still expects them to comfortably defeat Aston Villa.
After all, Unai Emery’s team have just won the Europa League, and so celebrating that success has likely been prioritised over working towards the weekend.
“We always talk about timings in football. I always thought this would be Manchester City’s easiest game in the run-in towards the end of the season,” Merson told Sportskeeda.
“That’s because I expected Aston Villa to win the Europa League and they will still be celebrating.
“The season is done for Villa. It has been an incredible one. Finishing inside the top five and winning the Europa League, brilliant.”
He added: “They deserve to celebrate this achievement and I don’t expect them to take this game against City too seriously.”
Merson’s prediction: Manchester City 3-0 Aston Villa
Tottenham lost heavily after winning the Europa League last season
It was not uncommon to see Spurs suffer heavy defeats in the Premier League this time last year, but they still managed to lift the Europa League trophy.
This was a significant achievement, ending their 17-year wait for a trophy. As a result, Ange Postecoglou’s squad did not hold back on the celebrations.
Therefore, it was unsurprising when Brighton thumped them 4-1 in North London, and Villa could suffer a similar fate at the Etihad Stadium.
They had been waiting even longer than Tottenham to win a competition, and will very much be in party mode this weekend.
Merson waxes lyrical over Pep Guardiola
While Merson expects Man City to win due to Villa’s own self-destruction, he has taken time to pay tribute to Guardiola.
In fact, the ex-Arsenal man has called City’s boss the greatest Premier League manager of all-time, even above Sir Alex Ferguson.
“This will also be Pep Guardiola’s last game for Manchester City. He’s an absolute legend and I’m really sad to see him leave England. No doubt that he will be a big miss for the Premier League,” Merson added.
“Sir Alex Ferguson was more about longevity, but Guardiola has truly revolutionised the game. Just look at the ideas that he has come up with along the way, the inverted full-back and everything. He also won the Premier League four times in a row, which is crazy!
“I would rank him as number one if I were to pick the top five managers in Premier League history. I would go with – Guardiola, Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger, Jose Mourinho and Jurgen Klopp.
“This would be the top five off the top of my head. All of them have dominated the Premier League in the last 20 years.”
