Manchester City will be back in Premier League action following their FA Cup exit over the weekend. They travel to Villa park on Wednesday to face Aston Villa as they move closer to securing the league title. Given what we covered in the team news article, we’re likely to see the selection impacted by what happened in this past Saturday’s defeat to Chelsea.
The Citizens put in a disappointing performance as they were knocked out in the FA Cup semi-finals by Chelsea. However, they should be feeling confident going into this game, as they are still more or less guaranteed to win the Premier League; unless a total disaster strikes them.
Villa are in the bottom half of the league but qualification for European football next season is not totally out of the question. It’s a long shot, but it could still happen. They will provide a challenge for the visitors, who will look to bounce back here with a win
Pep Guardiola has been leaning towards the 4-2-3-1 formation in recent games and might stick with the same for this game. He’s already confirmed that Zack Steffen will keep his position at the cup competition goalie, and thus will start on the weekend against Tottenham. That means Ederson, the No.1, starts in goal here.
There are going to be three changes made to the defence here, in order to manage the workloads. It will be Aymeric Laporte, Joao Cancelo and Benjamin Mendy who will be sitting this one out. John Stones and Ruben Dias will start as the centre backs with Kyle Walker and Oleksandr Zinchenko as the full backs.
Ilkay Gundogan will reclaim his place in the centre of midfield along with Rodri. These two have been at their best when playing together and it will be a challenge for the hosts to keep them down.
Guardiola will be making further changes with Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling not in the eleven. Ferran Torres will retain his place after an impressive performance and will start on the right wing. Along with him, it will be the incoming Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden.
City’s quality is such that they can make all these changes and still look as threatening as ever.
Manchester City will have Gabriel Jesus leading the attack for this game too. City become even more dangerous when the Brazilian is able to convert every chance that comes his way. The visitors have the chance to solidify their position at the top of the Premier League table and will likely do so by getting the three points against Villa.
Predicted Manchester City Starting XI Against Aston Villa (4-2-3-1):
Ederson, Kyle Walker, John Stones, Ruben Dias, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Rodri, Ilkay Gundogan, Ferran Torres, Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden, Gabriel Jesus