Paul Merson is backing Manchester City to retain their Premier League title by beating Aston Villa at The Etihad on Sunday.
The Citizens looked to be on the cusp of winning the Premier League crown after Liverpool FC dropped points in a 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur earlier this month.
However, Pep Guardiola’s side missed a late penalty to draw 2-2 with West Ham United last weekend before Liverpool FC cut their lead to a point thanks to a 2-1 victory at Southampton on Tuesday night.
Manchester City have lost three times in the Premier League this season and two of their defeats have come at The Etihad in losses to Crystal Palace and Tottenham Hotspur.
Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard has added incentive to mastermind a win at The Etihad seeing as the former Liverpool FC captain could play a role in helping the Merseyside outfit win the title.
The Birmingham club have won seven of their 18 games on the road in the English top flight this term but Gerrard’s side were held to a 1-1 draw with Burnley on Thursday night.
Former Arsenal midfielder Merson doesn’t believe Villa will cause an upset against Manchester City in their final Premier League fixture on Sunday evening.
“I’ve been involved with the beautiful game for far too long to think of this as a foregone conclusion, but I genuinely don’t think Villa will have enough to beat Manchester City,” Merson told Sportskeeda.
“Guardiola and his players shouldn’t have taken it until the last day, but they are still in control of their own destiny and should get the job done.
“That said, Manchester City have been guilty of leaving themselves open at the back in recent weeks.
“Villa have the likes of Ollie Watkins, Danny Ings and Philippe Coutinho, who are all dangerous players in their own right.
“City will have to bide their time and stay patient, like they did against Leicester City in 2019 when Vincent Kompany scored a worldie of a goal to effectively win the title for his team.”
Manchester City were 2-1 winners against Aston Villa at Villa Park back in December, when Ruben Dias and Bernardo Silva scored first-half goals before Ollie Watkins halved the deficit after the break.
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