Aston Villa vs. Manchester City
What: Premier League table, leaders Man City will look to extend streak.
When: Nov. 20, 8:00 p.m. ET
Where: Villa Park, Birmingham, England
TV channel: NBC Sports Network
Live stream: NBC Sports Live
Information from NBC Sports Group:
Why you should watch: This is the top team in the Premier League meeting one of the bottom teams. Man City is 12 points clear of second-place Tottenham. And they’re going to be far more interesting to watch against a team that is in the bottom three (and in fact the last relegation zone team).
Villa has lost 11 straight. And in 2015-16, when they were in the Championship (English league 3) and 10 points worse than they are now, they held Man City scoreless in a match that was an epic local derby – a 1-0 victory by Man City at Villa Park.
This is a big opportunity for Villa to not only get off the bottom, but take a step back into the Premier League. But against the league leaders who were coming off of a new club record 22-game winning streak, winning this game could take a big step out of Villa’s grasp.
“We would say it’s an easy draw because it’s difficult not to play against City,” midfielder Jack Grealish told Sky Sports ahead of the match. “You’re always going to get a tough one, it’s just the way it is – you just have to get on with it and get the three points.”
Keys to success: Man City should not have much trouble scoring goals vs. a team like Villa, especially when attacking down the wings and through their midfield. Of Man City’s strikers, Leroy Sane was the team’s scoring leader heading into the weekend with five goals, followed by Sergio Aguero with four goals. The team had to sign David Silva to add skill in midfield, but that depth will help that cause.
But Villa has a keeper in the shape of Andre Green who has played in three games this season, with two clean sheets and two shutouts. Barring injuries, that will give the inexperienced keeper a chance to make the important saves that help get out of their predicament.
Match preview: The two current top-scorers in the league – Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy and Mohamed Salah of Liverpool – meet when Leicester visits Liverpool on Saturday. Vardy has six goals this season. Salah has four.