Aston Villa and Manchester City will face off in a crucial Premier League clash on Saturday as both teams look to bounce back from recent setbacks.
Unai Emery’s Villa side currently sit 7th in the table, just two points behind 5th placed City. The Villans were in good form before letting a late lead slip away against Nottingham Forest last time out.
Meanwhile, reigning champions City have lost five of their last seven league matches, including a dramatic derby defeat to Manchester United last weekend.
Pep Guardiola’s men now find themselves nine points behind leader Liverpool, having played one more match.
Team News
Aston Villa are boosted by the potential returns of Leon Bailey and Tyrone Mings, who missed the game against Forest through injury and illness respectively. However, Jacob Ramsey remains on the sidelines.
City’s injury list has been reduced, with Mateo Kovacic and John Stones back in contention. But Rodri, Oscar Bobb and Nathan Ake remain unavailable, while Manuel Akanji faces a late fitness test.
Planned lineups
Aston Villa (4-3-3):
Martinez; Konsa, Carlos, Torres, Digne;
Kamara, Tielemans, McGinn;
Cash, Watkins, Rogers
Manchester City (4-3-3):
Ederson;
Walker, Dias, Guardiol, Lewis;
Kovacic, De Bruyne, Foden;
Doku, Haaland, Silva
The matchup is well balanced, with both teams looking to get their season back on track. A draw would be a reasonable result, but the hosts’ strong home form suggests they could prevail against the failed champions.
