Aston Villa vs Manchester City – Match preview and team news

The Football Faithful

Sat, Dec 21, 2024, 3:44 a.m.·4 min read

Aston Villa vs Manchester City – Match preview and team news

Aston Villa welcome Manchester City to Villa Park this afternoon knowing victory will take them above the reigning champions

The Villans are three points outside of the top four as they squandered the opportunity to break into the European spots against Nottingham Forest.

Unai Emery has been handed a boost as Tyrone Mings and Leon Bailey are both available for selection after they missed last week’s action.

Jacob Ramsey is the only notable injury concern but is progressing well in his recovery from a hamstring issue.

Manchester City will be devoid of any confidence after a late collapse against local rivals Manchester United condemned them to another defeat.

The Spaniard in the opposite dugout, Pep Guardiola, has suffered a huge blow as Ruben Dias is out for up to four weeks.

Ederson is a doubt for tomorrow’s match but Rico Lewis is back in contention after he served a one-game ban last weekend.

Aston Villa vs Manchester City – Match preview and team news

Form

Aston Villa: LWWWL

Like Manchester City, Aston Villa also succumbed to late pressure to throw away an advantage last weekend.

Unai Emery’s side were beating Nottingham Forest with five minutes to go courtesy of another goal from Jhon Duran.

“Being at home, we want it to be a bit of a fortress.”
See you tomorrow, Villans 💯
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) December 20, 2024

But Forest bombarded Emiliano Martinez’s net and they breached it in the 87th and 93rd minute to steal all three points.

That result put an end to Villa’s positive momentum after they had triumphed in three consecutive matches prior to that late loss.

Manchester City: LWDLL

City will be reeling after a catastrophic turn of events saw them blow a lead in the 88th minute to lose to Manchester United.

Matheus Nunes’ under-hit backpass saw Amad break into the box. The Portuguese international tried to atone for his error but ended up fouling the winger in the process.

Bruno Fernandes dispatched the spot-kick before Amad grabbed the winner minutes later after beating Ederson to the ball.

An early kick-off at Villa Park! 👊#ManCity pic.twitter.com/TgPCLBgiOp
— Manchester City (@ManCity) December 21, 2024

Pep Guardiola’s side have now only won one of their last 11 matches and trail league leaders Liverpool by nine points.

Last Meeting: Manchester City 4-1 Aston Villa, Premier League, 3rd April 2024

It was the Phil Foden show when the two sides last met as the midfielder netted a sensational hat-trick.

Rodri opened the scoring in the early exchanges as he connected with Jeremy Doku’s cut-back to fire into the roof of the net.

Villa weren’t behind for long, as a neat give-and-go between Morgan Rogers and Jhon Duran saw the latter burst clear before finishing from an acute angle ten minutes later.

The hosts regained the advantage in first-half stoppage time with a touch of magic from Foden. After being fouled on the edge of the box, the Englishman stepped up to take the resulting free-kick and curled his effort over the wall and past Robin Olsen.

The two goalscorers then linked up in the second period. Rodri set up Foden, who neatly tucked away an effort off the post to double his tally.

However, the Manchester City academy graduate wasn’t done there as he wrapped up the win by picking up his hat-trick.

His third was arguably the pick of the bunch as he won back possession 20-yards from goal before taking aim and finding the top corner despite slipping.

Foden went on to win the PFA Player of the Year Award after his performances helped Manchester City to a fourth consecutive Premier League title.

Predicted Lineups

Aston Villa: Martinez; Konsa, Carlos, Torres, Digne; Kamara, Tielemans, Onana; Rogers, McGinn; Watkins.

Manchester City: Ortega; Lewis, Stones, Akanji, Gvardiol; Kovacic, De Bruyne, Bernardo; Foden, Doku; Haaland.

Who is the referee?

Peter Bankes will be the match official. He will be assisted by Eddie Smart and Nick Greenhalgh while Andy Madley will be the fourth official. The VAR will be Darren England and he will be assisted by Darren Cann.