Aston Villa: Why Manchester City's Derby Win Saves Midlands Club from Relegation

Aston Villa fans can breathe a huge sigh of relief.

Manchester City have beaten their bitter rivals Manchester United 1-0, taking the title race down to the wire.

The win draws City level on points with United and means that, come the last day of the season, the Citizens will have all to play for.

That last day of the season sees Aston Villa travel to Norwich—who have nothing to play for—and there's a good chance the Canaries will be all done for the season.

Paul Lambert's team have looked a little up and down of late, and Alex McLeish could strike gold when his team arrives at Carrow Road on May 18th.

Elsewhere on that very same day, Queens Park Rangers—Aston Villa's relegation rivals—travel to the Etihad Stadium.

That matchup not only sees the intriguing return of Mark Hughes, but also features two teams fighting for very different things.

Manchester City's win on Monday night means their quest for the title is in their hands. They have to win both their remaining games and stay ahead of United on goal difference. That swing is currently plus-eight, so it's unlikely Sir Alex Ferguson's team can overcome that.

The Blues will be pumped and ready to deliver the Premier League trophy in front of their home support. All but the bravest will predict a walk-over in favour of the would-be champions that day.

Queens Park Rangers will have to beat Stoke City this weekend and grab at least a point from City to stand a chance of staying up. A possible scenario is that they actually beat Stoke but still go down with a loss to Roberto Mancini's men on goal difference.

This certainly gives Aston Villa some breathing room—especially since it's difficult to see where the next goal or point is guaranteed.

The Villans won't escape relegation by hauling themselves out of the relegation mix—they'll escape because one of the teams below won't pick up enough points.

I'm betting that's Queens Park Rangers.

Follow @stighefootball