MX23RW : Sunday, October 27 21:15:39| >> :600:182262:182262:
Oct 26, 2019 at 12.30pm UK at ​Etihad Stadium
Attendance: 54,506
Man CityManchester City
3-0
Aston Villa
Sterling (46'), Silva (65'), Gundogan (70')
Fernandinho (87')
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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Who will win Saturday's Premier League clash between Manchester City and Aston Villa?

Manchester City
Draw
Aston Villa
Manchester City
0.0%
Draw
0.0%
Aston Villa
0.0%
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Gabriel Jesus celebrates scoring for Man City on September 28, 2019
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PL Team of the Week - Jesus, Sterling, Grealish
>

Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool109102381528
2Manchester CityMan City107123292322
3Leicester CityLeicester106222581720
4Chelsea106222316720
5Arsenal104421514116
6Crystal Palace104331012-215
7Manchester UnitedMan Utd103431310313
8Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd1034398113
9Bournemouth103431313013
10West Ham UnitedWest Ham103431214-213
11Tottenham HotspurSpurs103341615112
12Wolverhampton WanderersWolves102621313012
13Burnley103341415-112
14Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton103341214-212
15Aston Villa103251516-111
16Everton103161016-610
17Newcastle UnitedNewcastle10235615-99
18Southampton10226925-168
19Norwich CityNorwich102171124-137
20Watford10055521-165

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