Second-place Manchester City travels to Birmingham to take on a red hot Aston Villa side who are undefeated two games into the Steven Gerrard era. Both sides are somewhat in-form, and it should be a fascinating tactical battle between rookie manager Steven Gerrard and the elite mentor Pep Guardiola.
Since Aston Villa’s promotion in 2019, Manchester City has a perfect record against them, winning all five fixtures (4 EPL fixtures and last season’s Carabao Cup Final), scoring 15 times and conceding just three goals. The Villans will be hoping they can buck that trend, whilst Manchester City will be supremely confident that they can collect the three points.
Aston Villa vs Manchester City FYIs:
Kick-off time: 8:15 PM GMT, 1st December 2021
Manchester City Starting XI Prediction: go here
Premier League Preview Pod: go here
Form Guide (All Competitions): Aston Villa (LLLWW) Man City (WWWWW)
Here’s how the treatment room looks for the reigning Premier League champions as they head to Villa Park.
One of the main talking points for this match should have been how England’s most expensive player would have been received upon his return to his hometown club.
Unfortunately for everyone hoping to see that occur, it’s unlikely to happen as Jack Grealish is a major doubt for this one. The mystery injury that has kept him out since the international break looks likely to prevent a homecoming for the Villa youth product.
Kevin De Bruyne will likely have not recovered from COVID-19 in time to make the starting XI here, and it’s a bit of a mystery as to when he will return.
The City midfield is doing just fine without him so a cautious approach is probably the most sensible one for the medical team to take.
Aymeric Laporte will definitely be out, as he serves yet another suspension. This time for yellow card accumulation.
Phil Foden will face another late fitness test to determine his availability. The Citizens will be hoping to have the ‘Stockport Gazza’ back for this clash.
Another player who remains out is Ferran Torres. The Spaniard found himself in the news this week as he was strongly linked with a transfer to Barcelona.
Despite this narrative, his return still seems to be most likely the middle of January as he recovers from the fractured foot injury that has kept him out for the majority of this season.
Despite this rather long injury list, I fully expect City to end Steven Gerrard’s winning streak at the helm of Aston Villa, whilst continuing their own incredible run of form.