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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.

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Gabriel Jesus celebrates scoring for Man City on September 28, 2019
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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal28204470244664
2Liverpool28197265263964
3Manchester CityMan City28196363283563
4Aston Villa29175760421856
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs28165759421753
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd28152113939047
7West Ham UnitedWest Ham2912894650-444
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2811985044642
9Wolverhampton WanderersWolves28125114244-241
10Newcastle UnitedNewcastle281241259481140
11Chelsea27116104745239
12Fulham29115134344-138
13Bournemouth2898114152-1135
14Crystal Palace2878133348-1529
15Brentford2975174154-1326
16Everton2887132939-1025
17Luton TownLuton2957174260-1822
18Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest2967163551-1621
19Burnley2945202963-3417
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd2835202474-5014


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