Aston Villa are playing host to Manchester City this weekend on Saturday afternoon, which is the earliest of them all.
Aston Villa are set to go through their tough weeks starting from this weekend with Manchester City as their first tough opposition. Enzo Maresca’s men’s fine form has been impressive with seven consecutive wins in the Premier League. Such would be a challenge for Villa.
However, Unai Emery’s men do not fear them as they have their own positive trend. They have been unbeaten in all competitions in the past six games, collecting five wins and one draw. The only thing they are concerned about is probably the list of injured players in the squad.
Villa;s head-to-head record with The Citizens has been positive too. John McGinn and Co have picked up four wins and only suffered defeat twice in the last six meetings. Last season, they even managed to beat them twice in both fixtures in the Premier League.
The left back crisis is slowly diminishing with the return of Ian Maatsen. The Dutchman is set to be back slightly sooner than expected and will get a nod as a starter in this game.
Unfortunately, there are still some names who will still be unavailable due to their injuries. Matteo Ruggeri, Amadou Onana, Modou Cisse, and Aaron Wan Bissaka are ruled out in this game while Johan Manzambi is still doubtful if he could be fit and play in this match without risking too much of his condition.
Therefore, in the starting XI, Emery would stick to some regular names after the rotation in the midweek clash in the Champions League. Zion Suzuki would keep his spot between the sticks. At the backline, Victor Lindelof and Pau Torres should be at the heart of their defence while Matty Cash could return as a starter after being rested on Wednesday. On the left flank, Maatsen will start.
In the midfield, Boubacar Kamara and Joao Gomes will be back as the double pivot, while John McGinn is likely to return to the right wing with Ibrahim Mbaye being deployed on the left. Emi Buendia will be taking the number 10 role to support Nicolas Jackson upfront.
Emery could surprise their opposition side by fielding Brian Madjo as a starter instead of Jackson before playing the Senegalese striker in the second half. Should Villa still be unable to find the back of the net, Alysson could come off the bench alongside Leon Goretzka and Alejandro Garnacho, plus Manzambi if he is fit enough. The Argentine winger did show his explosiveness and pace in Viking win to remind the fans that he still has the potential to help The Villans in this campaign. He had two attempts in the midweek which just flew slightly wide. The former Chelsea man could be the forgotten weapon in Villa’s squad to stun their opposition.
The encounter between Unai Emery’s side and Enzo Maresca’s will be available on Sky Sports Premier League, Sky Ultra HD, Sky Go Extra, and Sky Go UK on TV as well as live streaming. The fans can also enjoy this game on NOW TV.
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