Heading into Saturday's evening fixture with Aston Villa, the smart money is on a Manchester City victory. Defeats to AFC Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, West Ham United and Arsenal have seen pressure mount on the shoulders of Steven Gerrard. This has only been exacerbated by the sacking of Scott Parker from the Cherries this week.
Villa are under-performing while their opponents this weekend flourish. Wednesday's win at home to Nottingham Forest resembled more of a training exercise rather than a competitive fixture.
City tore through the deep Forest line on multiple occasions and with Erling Haaland steamrolling through all who lie before him - the picture looks bleak for the West Midlands outfit. However, Pep Guardiola will be well aware of the lack of dead certs in the Premier League.
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We only have to look back to the title decider last season to find evidence of how easily the tables can be turned against any team. The scare Guardiola and co received that day was evident by the reaction of the boss at full time.
It was meant to be a straightforward afternoon at the Etihad but Matty Cash and Philippe Coutinho's goals gave Liverpool a chance to capitalise. As we all know, the Blues would respond in dramatic style through the heroics of Ilkay Gundogan and Rodri, ending the day lifting the title.
Roles will be reversed on Saturday evening though. Unlike earlier this year, all eyes will now be on Gerrard, rather than Guardiola.
Despite all the negative attention being on his opposite number, the Catalonian manager may well be tempted to take a leaf out of Gerrard's book from that previous meeting. For the opening 69 minutes of the clash on Sunday, May 22, Villa fed off the anxiety in the home end.
The longer City went without scoring, the more anxious it became. This atmosphere played right into the hands of the Villains.
Due to Villa's current predicament, Guardiola will be well aware of the anxiety there must be among the home supporters. Being stuck in terrible form ahead of the visit of Manchester City is the stuff of nightmares.
An early goal for the Blues could turn the atmosphere toxic at Villa Park and without the quality in their squad to overcome it, surely there can only be one winner. The strategy of playing off the home crowd's nerves could be enough to sink Gerrard's men; equally, should they allow the hosts to gain momentum, City's night will become a lot trickier.
Unlike many games City will face this season, Villa cannot afford to take a tight defeat after such a negative start to the campaign. This need to get a positive result and appease the home supporters could lead to the floodgates opening once more at Villa Park.
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