Man City had started the 2023/24 season in fine form(as usual) but in recent weeks the results have not been going their way. Next up, they take on a buoyant Aston Villa side on Wednesday night at Villa Park.
Manchester City played Chelsea, Liverpool and Spurs in their previous three Premier League matches and they have quite surprisingly drawn all these games due to which the reigning champions have slipped to the third spot on the table.
On Sunday, Pep Guardiola’s side were held to a 3-3 draw by Tottenham so MCFC will have to be on their toes in midweek. City have won 10 of their previous 11 matches against Aston Villa across all competitions but the home side go into this tie at the back of a five-game unbeaten streak.
Man City aren’t playing badly but the results need to go their way because they are currently third in the Premier League table so a loss at Villa Park could push them out of the top four by the end of this matchweek.
Manchester City’s team news and injuries:
Kevin De Bruyne and Matheus Nunes are both ruled out until next month but things will be worse for the Man City manager because Rodri and Jack Grealish are both suspended for the trip to the West Midlands.
Rodri’s absence has always been a massive headache for Guardiola and with the defensive midfielder missing the City boss will have to bring in either Rico Lewis or Mateo Kovacic in that role.
John Stones and Manuel Akanji are both available so there’s also a possibility that Pep uses both the defenders in the holding roles in the middle of the pitch.
Gvardiol had a good outing on Sunday but he should be replaced by Nathan Ake which is going to be the only defensive change for the Aston Villa game. Grealish scored for the first time in 27 games at the weekend and his absence for the midweek tie won’t be an issue because Guardiola has Jeremy Doku in his squad.
Erling Haaland could face a ban for confronting the referee during their 3-3 draw vs Tottenham but that decision won’t come before Wednesday’s game.
Man City predicted line up vs Aston Villa:
Predicted Starting line up(3-4-2-1): Ederson; Walker, Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake; John Stones, Kovacic/Lewis, Foden, Jeremy Doku; Alvarez, B. Silva; Haaland.
