Manchester City failed to register a shot on target in a goalless first half with Aston Villa in the West Midlands.
Aleksander Kolarov hit the post and Sergio Aguero glanced a header inches wide for the Premier League champions, but Brad Guzan was untested despite City's dominance.
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Aguero's thwarted run across the box eventually led to Kolarov's 10th-minute strike from the left side of the penalty area, which took a deflection off Alan Hutton on its way to smashing the woodwork.
The same City pair were involved again just prior to the half-hour mark when the Serbian left-back crossed for the Argentine striker, whose flick header had Guzan beaten but narrowly missed the target.
Kolarov, James Milner and Edin Dzeko all came close in the final moments prior to the interval as Villa defended well to hang on to half-time parity, with Nathan Baker producing a couple of crucial blocks to keep the score at 0-0.
However, with Gabriel Agbonlahor having been forced to withdraw shortly before kickoff with illness and fit-again striker Christian Benteke only on the bench, the home side struggled to create chances of their own.
Charles N'Zogbia span away from Fernandinho on the halfway line before carrying the ball forward to shoot across Joe Hart and wide from 25 yards in their most promising forward break.
Joe Fish
