MX23RW : Thursday, December 12 04:44:36| >> :120:18403:18403:
[monks data]
Attendance: 54,506
Manchester City logo
Premier League | Gameweek 10
Oct 26, 2019 at 12.30pm UK
 
Aston Villa logo

3-0

Sterling (46'), Silva (65'), Gundogan (70')
FT(HT: 0-0)

How Manchester City could line up against Aston Villa

Sports Mole looks at how Manchester City could line up for this weekend's Premier League clash with Aston Villa at the Etihad.

Manchester City resume Premier League action on Saturday lunchtime with a game against Aston Villa at the Etihad.

Pep Guardiola's men will be desperate to put right the mistakes they made on their last home domestic outing - a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The Citizens, who are currently six points behind leaders Liverpool, will know that any further mistakes at home could prove fatal for their defence of the title.

Here, Sports Mole looks at how City could line up for the meeting with Dean Smith's side.


POSSIBLE MNC XI v AST

Out: Leroy Sane (knee), Aymeric Laporte (knee), Rodri Hernandez (thigh), Oleksandr Zinchenko (knee)
Doubtful: None

> Click here to read City's full list of injuries and suspensions ahead of this fixture.

Guardiola will be glad to see that his injury crisis in defence is slowly abating, with John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi both recovering from knocks to feature from the bench against Atalanta.

However, using both at the same time may be considered too much of a risk, meaning that Stones is likely to partner Fernandinho, whose performances in central defence - not his normal position - have been highly impressive.

It was thought that Joao Cancelo would receive his first start in a City shirt during the week, only for Kyle Walker to recover from a virus to feature instead. The Catalan is likely to give the former Juventus right-back a chance to impress against the newly promoted Midlands side.

On the other side, Benjamin Mendy will have another chance to get some rhythm under his belt given that Zinchenko's injury has exhausted Guardiola of options at left-back.

At the base of midfield is likely to be Ilkay Gundogan, who has featured in all but one Premier League game this term.

The German will be expected to serve as the platform which enables Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva, City's glittering engine room, to take control of the game and dominate possession against Villa.

Guardiola often employs a rotational policy with his attacking players, handing starts to Riyad Mahrez and Sergio Aguero for the 5-1 win over Atalanta, which means that the pair are likely to sit out of this upcoming game.

In their place will be Gabriel Jesus and Bernardo Silva, both of whom started in the 2-0 win over Crystal Palace, along with the ever-present Raheem Sterling.

The latter has been simply irresistible, netting 10 goals in all competitions for City so far this term, and is expected to cause some damage to Villa's right-hand side.

ID:376111: cacheID:376111:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:6439:
Written by
Leo Nieboer
No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Gabriel Jesus celebrates scoring for Man City on September 28, 2019
Read Next:
PL Team of the Week - Jesus, Sterling, Grealish
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool14112129111835
2Chelsea1594235181731
3Arsenal1585229151429
4Manchester CityMan City158342721627
5Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest157441918125
6Aston Villa157442323025
7Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton156632522324
8Bournemouth157352320324
9Brentford157263128323
10Fulham156542220223
11Tottenham HotspurSpurs1562731191220
12Newcastle UnitedNewcastle155551921-220
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd155461918119
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham155372028-818
15Everton143561421-714
16Leicester CityLeicester153572130-914
17Crystal Palace152761420-613
18Ipswich TownIpswich151681427-139
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1523102338-159
20Southampton1512121131-205


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!