Preview: Manchester City vs Aston Villa - prediction, team news, lineups

After missing out on the Premier League title, Manchester City welcome Europa League winners Aston Villa to the Etihad Stadium for their final fixture of the 2025-26 season on Sunday afternoon.

This match will represent Pep Guardiola’s last game in charge of the Citizens following confirmation of his exit on Friday after 10 trophy-laden years at the club.

Match preview

Pep Guardiola will endure back-to-back seasons without winning a league title for the first time in his 18-year managerial career, after Man City’s 1-1 draw at Bournemouth on Tuesday night confirmed Arsenal as Premier League champions.

However, a domestic cup double (EFL Cup and FA Cup) and a runners-up finish in the top flight still represents a successful season for the Citizens, who will give Guardiola, the club’s most successful manager and arguably the greatest Premier League manager, a special send-off in what is now a dead-rubber game for both City and Villa.

In front of the newly-expanded and newly-named Pep Guardiola Stand, the legendary Catalan will take charge of his 593rd and final game as Man City boss on Sunday, surpassing Les McDowall (592 games from 1950 to 1963) as the longest-serving manager in the club’s history.

Boasting a total of 20 trophies at Man City, including six Premier League titles, Guardiola has the best win rate of any permanent coach in the division (70.9% - 268 wins in 378 games), while he has also won 10 of his previous 14 meetings with Aston Villa, including all six at the Etihad by an aggregate score of 17-5.

In fact, Man City have won 19 of their last 20 home league games against the West Midlands club, winning each of the last 15 - and scoring two or more goals in 14 of those victories - since a 2-0 loss in April 2007.

The Citizens head into their final-day fixture unbeaten in their last 15 Premier League games since losing 2-0 to rivals Man United in January, while Guardiola has won his final league match in eight of his nine seasons with the sky blues – the only blot on his copybook came in a meaningless match at Brentford in 2022-23 (1-0 loss) before the club celebrated a historic treble.

While the mood surrounding Man City is quite sombre to say the least, the same certainly cannot be said about Aston Villa, who celebrated European glory for the first time in 44 years on Wednesday courtesy of a 3-0 victory over Freiburg in the Europa League final.

Two stunning first-half strikes from Youri Tielemans and Emiliano Buendia were followed by a third goal from Morgan Rogers as Villa eased to deserved win in Istanbul, with Unai Emery lifting a record-extending fifth Europa League trophy as a manager before joining the parade on Thursday.

Europa League success for any club guarantees Champions League football for the following season, but Villa had already secured their spot in Europe’s most prestigious club competition for 2026-27 thanks to an impressive 4-2 victory over Liverpool last week, confirming their top-five finish in the Premier League with a game to spare.

The West Midlands outfit are therefore under no pressure heading to the Etihad and should they suffer defeat on Sunday, coupled with Liverpool beating Brentford, Emery’s side would slip from fourth to fifth in the table. The Premier League’s final Champions League ticket would then pass down to sixth place, giving chasing rivals Bournemouth and Brighton everything to play for.

Villa’s poor record at the Etihad bodes well for those top-six chasing clubs, but they have won three of their last five encounters with Man City, albeit all on home soil including a narrow 1-0 success at Villa Park earlier this season.

Emery’s men, who have won, drawn and lost six PL games each away from home this season, could complete the league double over Man City for the first time since the 2001-02 season if they spoil Guardiola's farewell and claim maximum points on Sunday.

Manchester City Premier League form:

Manchester City form (all competitions):

Aston Villa Premier League form:

Aston Villa form (all competitions):

Team News

Along with Guardiola, Bernardo Silva and John Stones will bid farewell to Man City on Sunday ahead of leaving the club in the summer upon the expiration of their contracts. Both players are expected to feature in some capacity, with the former likely to start as captain in midfield.

The likes of James Trafford, Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake, Josko Gvardiol, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Rico Lewis, Tijjani Reijnders, Nico Gonzalez, Savinho, Rayan Cherki and Omar Marmoush will all be in contention to start now that there is nothing riding on this final-day fixture for the Citizens.

Phil Foden, who has surprisingly been left out of England’s World Cup squad, could also be handed a start, while Erling Haaland will become just the second player in Premier League history after Alan Shearer to score 30+ goals in more than one season if he nets a hat-trick against Villa – the Norwegian currently has 27 goals to his name and is set to win a third Golden Boot in four years.

As for Aston Villa, Emery has said that he “will try to be serious” with his team selection but has admitted that “it’s not easy” to name a focused XI following Thursday’s trophy parade.

Boubacar Kamara (knee) is one confirmed absence and Alysson (groin) is also set to miss out, while goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez may not be risked after playing in the Europa League final with a broken finger sustained during the warm-up.

Former Man City youngster and on-loan Man United winger Jadon Sancho could make his final appearance for Villa, while the likes of Tammy Abraham, Leon Bailey, Douglas Luiz, Ian Maatsen and Tyrone Mings may all be given a run-out, either from the start or as substitutes.

Manchester City possible starting lineup:

Trafford: Nunes, Stones, Ake, Ait-Nouri; Rodri, Bernardo; Savinho, Foden, Doku; Marmoush

Aston Villa possible starting lineup:

Bizot; Bogarde, Lindelof, Mings, Maatsen; Luiz, Onana; Bailey, Rogers, Sancho; Abraham

We say: Manchester City 3-1 Aston Villa

It is difficult to predict the outcome of a game with zero sporting consequences for either team, especially with both managers expected to heavily rotate their starting lineups.

It remains to be seen exactly what shape Aston Villa will be in after their Europa League celebrations, while Man City will be motivated by opportunity to give Guardiola, Bernardo and Stones a victorious send-off in front of the newly-expanded Etihad crowd. With that in mind, an entertaining home win could be on the cards here.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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