Pep Guardiola reveals why Aston Villa are ‘more dangerous’ Man City opponents

Pep Guardiola warned Manchester City to remain wary of a wounded Aston Villa during his pre-match press conference on Friday.

City can go top of the Premier League with victory at Villa Park, where Steven Gerrard is coming under increasing pressure after a poor start to the season.

But Guardiola – who saw his team almost blow the title against Villa in May – fears a backlash with Gerrard’s side sitting in the relegation zone.

Villa sit 19th coming into the weekend, with just Leicester City in possession of a worse record than them five matches into the season.

Pep Guardiola believes that Aston Villa are “more dangerous” opponents due to their current lowly position in the Premier League table.

“They are more dangerous right now,” Guardiola told the Manchester Evening News on Friday afternoon

“I’d prefer them to be in a better position,’ Guardiola said. ‘Tomorrow is more difficult for the fact that they have only won one game.

‘But their quality is there. They added Leander Dendoncker, and Jan Bednarek, two experienced players. I can imagine how tough it will be. I felt it immediately when we finished the game against Nottingham Forest.’

Aston Villa caused Man City problems last season – notably taking a 2-0 lead on the final day of the campaign – despite eventually being defeated in both meetings.

The fact remains, though, that Villa have been defeated in all seven of their previous fixtures against Man City since they returned to the Premier League.