Super Sunday this week sees Manchester City host Aston Villa. Here’s everything you need to know heading into gameweek 23’s penultimate fixture…
THE BUILD UP
Aston Villa are back on their travels this week and the Etihad Stadium is their destination. It is an arena where the Villans have seen very little success in recent years, but Unai Emery is the differential this time around. The Spaniard has defied the odds and broken ducts on several occasions during his (near) four months with the West-Midlands club – can he do it again this weekend?
Despite a superb turnaround in form since Emery’s arrival, the claret and blue side suffered a setback against Leicester City last time out, missing out on an opportunity to enter the top half of the Premier League. Although they led twice in the fixture at Villa Park, Brendan Rodgers’ Foxes came away 4-2 winners. Individual mistakes cost Villa on the day, but there were plenty of positives to take from the performance and lots to build on heading into this weekend.
Meanwhile, this week’s hosts, Manchester City, find themselves in a difficult – at least for their standards – vein of form. Three losses in their last six games, including a Carabao Cup exit to Nathan Jones’ relegation-threatened Southampton and the devastating derby day defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford, leaves Pep Guardiola’s side in second and still chasing the Spaniard’s understudy Mikel Arteta and his table-topping Arsenal team.
Last time out, City missed an opportunity to gain on the Gunners – after the North London outfit lost away to Everton – as Harry Kane’s record-breaking strike was enough to see off the Citizens at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The champions will look to put their title charge back on track on Sunday, having not lost at home to Aston Villa in the league since the 2006/07 season where John Carew and Shaun Maloney’s strikes saw off Stuart Pearce’s City side. Will the run continue?
TEAM NEWS
ASTON VILLA
Summer signing Diego Carlos is nearing a return from injury and could make his comeback to first team training as soon as next week, Unai Emery has revealed. After suffering a snapped Achilles towards the end of his home debut against Everton in August, it looked as if the Brazilian would not feature again this season. A successful rehabilitation process has brought forward the former Sevilla man’s return date however, and it looks as he could have a part to play during the last run-in.
On the 29-year-old, Unai Emery said: βDiego Carlos is doing his work individually but I think next week he will start with us, which is very good news.”
Emery also discussed Bertrand TraorΓ©’s situation, revealing that the Burkino Faso international is in contention for Sunday’s game having returned to first team training earlier today. The 27-year-old was on loan at Turkish club Δ°stanbul BaΕakΕehir, but had his contract cut short in January due to injury and now looks to reignite his career with the club.
On the forward’s condition, Emery said: “βBertrand TraorΓ© is starting to train with the team normally, but itβs the first day [today].”
Elsewhere, there are no other absentees and Unai Emery will have a fully fit squad to take with him to Manchester. John McGinn, having made the bench against Leicester last week, is pushing for a start, whilst Γlex Moreno and Lucas Digne fight for the left-back spot.
MANCHESTER CITY
The champions have just the one guaranteed absentee for the upcoming fixture at the Etihad – John Stones. The former Everton centre-half suffered a hamstring injury during his side’s 1-0 victory over Arsenal earlier this month, with Pep Guardiola confirming that the England international will be out for up to a month.
Phil Foden meanwhile, has not played since the 2-1 defeat to bitter rivals Manchester United on the 16th January, missing four games in that time. The 22-year-old’s situation is an interesting one, with a reported foot injury keeping him out of the Spurs game post-derby day and a mystery illness sidelining the talented midfielder since. Depending on whether he has overcome this illness will determine his availability on the weekend.
Elsewhere, Kevin De Bruyne is likely to return to the starting eleven, whilst Bernardo Silva could make way for Δ°lkay GΓΌndoΔan in midfield.
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A BIT ON MANCHESTER CITY
The standout performer for Guardiola’s Citizens this season has been Erling Haaland. The big Norwegian signed for a reported Β£51 million in the summer and has set the league alight, scoring 31 goals (25 in the Premier League). Youngster Rico Lewis appears to be having his breakthrough season too and has now established himself as the starting left-back, pushing the likes of Joao Cancelo, who is now at Bayern Munich, out of the starting lset-up.
This year’s Community Shield runners up boast the best home record of any side in the division, taking 28 points from a possible 33 at the Etihad, scoring 38 goals and conceding just 12 in that time.
As previously stated however, City’s recent form and performances has been somewhat of a worry to the fans. Erling Haaland, despite his incredible goal tally, has struggled of late, as has the likes of Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne; who started from the bench against Spurs. It is certainly not the end of the world for Manchester City just yet, but Guardiola will hope his side can improve and fast, as they look to catch leaders Arsenal and win back to back Premier League titles.
Despite the worries on the pitch, it is events off it that have caught the headlines at Manchester City this week. On Monday, the Premier League released a statement outlining that a four year investigation saw the club make over 100 alleged breaches of financial rules. The six-time Premier League champions had been dishonest to the league in regards to providing information about player and manager contracts, among other breaches relating to revenue dating back to 2009.
The whole situation is ongoing, with a verdict yet to be established, but given the extent of the rule breaches and the time-span that it has happened over, you’d expect consequences. Possible penalties include points deductions, fines and even relegation from the league! Will this off-the-field commotion hinder Manchester City’s performance on Sunday or will it fuel the team towards all three points?
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PREDICTED LINE-UP
Letβs take a look at Liamβs predicted line-up for this upcoming fixture…
Do you agree? Who makes your side?
Have your own attempt by accessing the following link: https://utvpodcast.co.uk/line-up-selector/.
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AUTHOR | LIAM DAVIES
Authorβs UTV PODCAST archive Liam Davies – UTV Podcast | An Aston Villa Blog
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