Manchester City will be looking to continue their excellent run of form in the Premier League as they travel to face Aston Villa.
The Blues haven’t won at Villa Park since the 2021/22 season, where goals
from Ruben Dias and Bernardo Silva earned City a victory.
Villa have been in good form of late after a torrid start to the season, winning five games in a row in all competitions but lost to Go Ahead Eagles in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday night.
Here are five things to look out for ahead of the Premier League clash:
Who starts in defensive midfield?
Rodri is confirmed to be out due to the hamstring injury he sustained against Brentford just before the international break, whilst Nico Gonzalez’s fitness is yet to be confirmed.
The 23-year-old suffered a foot injury against Villarreal but could well be available to face the Villains.
If he isn’t, the usual suspect to step into his shoes would be Mateo Kovacic, who has replaced Nico in City’s last two matches.
But Kovacic went five months without playing after an operation on his achilles, and I doubt he’ll be deemed fit enough to start so early into his comeback.
Therefore, I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see John Stones start for the Blues. He played as the deepest lying midfielder against Real Madrid last season and impressed, particularly in the first half.
City’s number five is as good on the ball as most midfielders in the Premier League, and has the physical qualities to do a job in there for the Blues.
Extra two days of rest benefitting City
City’s UEFA Champions League game against Villarreal on Thursday, barring Nico’s injury, was dealt with with a minimum of fuss.
Phil Foden, Nico O’Reilly and Tijjani Reijnders were rested as the likes of Rico Lewis were allowed to impress. Villarreal hit the post and Gianluigi Donnarumma made one very good save, but City controlled the rest of the game.
Villa, meanwhile, struggled and lost against Go Ahead Eagles. With one day of recovery and one day of training, they’ll naturally be much less prepared.
Hopefully for City’s sake, the likes of Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins will be fatigued and mentally affected by their defeat on Thursday, and that can counteract Villa’s home advantage and allow the Blues to control the game on Sunday.
Another start for Savinho
City have plenty of wing options, but Savinho seems to be Pep Guardiola’s favourite at the moment.
The Brazilian has started five of City’s last six games, and has appeared in all of their last nine fixtures in all competitions.
In that time, he accumulated a goal and two assists and despite some very underwhelming performances, he was named Man of the Match against Villarreal.
Jeremy Doku had four magnificent games in a row but has been under par since, so I think Savinho might start on the left of City’s attack, where he looked sharp against Everton.
Minutes for Ait-Nouri
Rayan Ait-Nouri hasn’t played in nearly two months for City, and I expect him to get minutes off the bench if City are ahead late on.
The Algerian full-back is going to be eased back in along with Rayan Cherki, Kovacic and eventually Rodri and Abdukodir Khusanov too, and this could be the first chance to give him minutes.
O’Reilly has been magnificent in his absence but City will be glad to have the technicality, trickery and pace of Ait-Nouri coming back into their backline.
City breaking their duck at Villa Park
Aston Villa away has been a bogey fixture for City recently, but I think City are in a good state and can exploit some of Villa’s weaknesses.
Unai Emerey’s side still look to play with a high line so the pace of Erling Haaland and Savinho could cause issues there, as well as potentially Omar Marmoush if he plays.
And defensively, City can soak up pressure with more physicality in midfield now and the best goalkeeper in the world in Donnarumma.
I think we’ll see another clean sheet and a gritty win for City, ahead of a big upcoming run of fixtures including games against Bournemouth, Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool.
