The Midlands side currently sit third from bottom in the Premier League’s relegation zone, but a win against the current champions would lift them above Wigan and into 17th spot.
And Lambert, who takes his side to a crunch match with Reading on their next away trip, believes Villa have shown they will be able to cope against the Manchester club.
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| VILLA - MAN CITY PREVIEW |
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| 13/2 | Aston Villa are 13/2 with Bet365 to beat City by any scoreline on Monday night |
"That's the frustrating thing, when you play well and don't get results especially the games at Everton, West Brom and Swansea.
"When you have a two-goal lead at Everton and West Brom and you don't see it through, or concede a late equaliser as was the case at Swansea, it's frustrating.
"If you had taken maximum points from those games, then you'd be sitting mid-table and, against Arsenal, we should have had at least a point."
Villa will travel to face Reading on March 9, before another crucial game at home to QPR a week later.
But Lambert, who is targeting maximum points from the fixtures, does not want to rule out a result against Manchester City.
He added: "People are asking about the Reading and QPR games and I say to them, 'so there's no point in playing Manchester City then?'
"I don't view it that way. We may as well just give it to them if we think like that. We want to beat Manchester City."