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2023/24 English Premier League
Matchday 15
Aston Villa v Manchester City
Villa Park
Birmingham, England
Wednesday, 6 December 2023
Kick-off is at 22h15
Aston Villa and Manchester City will be hoping the man in the middle doesn't steal the spotlight in their clash at Villa Park on Wednesday, December 6.
Both teams were on the wrong end of questionable refereeing decisions on matchday 14 which potentially cost each of them crucial points in the title race.
Bournemouth striker Antoine Semenyo was fortunate to stay on the pitch in the 2-2 draw with Villa after he pulled back Leon Bailey in the first half, having already been booked early on at the Vitality Stadium.
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Meanwhile, City players were left fuming after the referee stopped play with Jack Grealish through on goal, having initially played advantage for a foul on Erling Haaland in stoppage time during their 3-3 draw with Tottenham at the Etihad Stadium.
The Villans remained unmoved in the standings in fourth place, one point behind the Citizens, who dropped to third after Arsenal and Liverpool beat Brentford and Fulham respectively.
The Gunners maintained the two-point gap to the Reds at the top of the table, with Pep Guardiola's side a further point adrift of their title rivals following a third draw on the spin.
Ollie Watkins is enjoying another fine season at VIlla and looks set to break the 10-goal mark for the fourth year running. The striker headed home in the 90th minute to earn a share of the spoils against the Cherries to record his third goal in as many games and take his tally for the campaign to eight in 14 appearances.
Alamy Stock Photo
Jeremy Doku was electrifying against Spurs and came so close to scoring, but saw his shot hit the underside of the crossbar and the right post before bouncing away to safety. The Belgian winger had a hand in Phil Foden's goal after slipping in Julian Alvarez to square the ball for the Englishman. He has contributed two goals and five assists in 11 outings.
Villa head coach Unai Emery praised the fighting spirit of his players on the south coast and highlighted the important of continuing to make steady progress.
"We have to be always passionate and consistent in our progress. We can concede some mistakes and goals, but we always have to be strong in our mind," the Spaniard said.
"Our reaction today was fantastic. We didn't give up when we were struggling. They had some chances to score but we were always strong, trying to take our opportunity.
"When we scored the second goal it was fantastic, an amazing goal. We have to accept this draw."
Guardiola admits he wasn't happy to draw at home to Tottenham, but refused to lay the blame at the feet of the match official for his mistake.
"I make mistakes, the players make mistakes," the Spaniard said. "It surprised me that in the moment when Erling goes down in the action from [Ben] Davies it was fine but in the right moment he stands up and the referee makes the gesture to play on.
"After he made the pass he (the referee) stopped the game. I don't want to criticise them. We didn't draw because of that. They are happy, we are a little bit less happy."
Head-to-Head (Last Five Premier League Meetings)
Matches - 5
Aston Villa - 0
Man City - 4
Draws - 1
Premier League Matchday 15 fixtures:
Tuesday, December 5
21h30: Wolverhampton Wanderers v Burnley
22h15: Luton Town v Arsenal
Wednesday, December 6
21h30: Brighton & Hove Albion v Brentford
21h30: Crystal Palace v Bournemouth
21h30: Fulham v Nottingham Forest
21h30: Sheffield United v Liverpool
22h15: Aston Villa v Manchester City
22h15: Manchester United v Chelsea
Thursday, December 7
21h30: Everton v Newcastle United
22h15: Tottenham Hotspur v West Ham United
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