Man City vs. Aston Villa confirmed lineups: Pep Guardiola makes nine changes for farewell game with Bernardo Silva, John Stones decisions made

Pep Guardiola has included Bernardo Silva and John Stones in his starring lineup for this afternoon’s Premier League fixture against Aston Villa at the Etihad Stadium.

Bernardo will captain the Citizens on his 460th and final appearance for the club - more than any other player under Guardiola - while Stones will play for the 295th and final time after 10 glorious years with the sky blues.

The legendary duo will bid farewell to Man City and their supporters after the match during a special presentation at the Etihad along with iconic manager Guardiola, who will surpass Les McDowall (592 games from 1950 to 1963) as the longest-serving coach in the club’s history.

Guardiola has opted to have a bit of fun with his starting lineup in his final match, making a total of nine changes to the side that began the 1-1 draw with Bournemouth on Tuesday,

James Trafford will start in goal behind a back four of Rico Lewis, Stones, Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake. Abdukodir Khusanov, Marc Guehi and Nico O’Reilly - who all started at the Vitality Stadium - are not included in the matchday squad.

Rodri is another first-team star who is left out of the squad, so Bernardo will be joined in midfield by Nico Gonzalez, while Tijjani Reijnders is also handed a start.

Phil Foden and Savinho are set to operate in wide areas in support of Antoine Semenyo, who is expected to lead the line as top scorer Erling Haaland is not included in the City squad.

No Rogers, Martinez, Konsa as Emery makes eight changes to Aston Villa XI

As for Aston Villa, head coach Unai Emery has made a total of eight changes to the team that beat Freiburg 3-0 in the Europa League final in Istanbul on Wednesday night.

Only Ollie Watkins, Emiliano Buendia and Victor Lindelof retain their starting spots, while Emiliano Martinez, Ezri Konsa and Morgan Rogers are three high-profile stars who are not selected in the matchday squad.

Goalkeeper Marco Bizot will start between the sticks, while Andreas Garcia, Lindelof, Tyrone Mings and Ian Maatsen make up a four-man defence.

Douglas Luiz, once on the books at Man City, will begin in centre-midfield alongside Lamare Bogarde and Ross Barkley, while Leon Bailey will provide support in attack for Buendia and Watkins.

Manchester City starting lineup: Trafford; Lewis, Stones, Dias, Ake; Gonzalez, Bernardo, Reijnders; Foden, Semenyo, Savinho

Subs: Bettinelli, Marmoush, Kovacic, Cherki, Doku, Ait-Nouri, Gvardiol, Nunes, Alleyne

Aston Villa starting lineup: Bizot; Garcia, Lindelof, Mings, Maatsen; Bogarde, Luiz; Bailey, Barkley, Buendia; Watkins

Subs: Wright, Cash, McGinn, Tielemans, Digne, Torres, Onana, Hemmings, Burrowes