Manchester City will clash heads with Aston Villa at the Villa Park on Wednesday night, hoping to pick up a win and continue their strong run of form in the Premier League. The Citizens will be heading into the contest on the back of a disappointing 1-0 loss to Chelsea in the FA Cup, whereas Dean Smith’s men recorded a 2-1 loss against Liverpool.
Pep Guardiola will probably opt for the 4-3-3 formation with a couple of tweaks from the last game. Oleksandr Zinchenko might get the nod over Benjamin Mendy, whereas Riyad Mahrez looks likely to make his way back into the starting eleven.
4-3-3 Manchester City Predicted Lineup Vs Aston Villa
Defence
Ederson Moraes will replace Zack Steffen in between the sticks for the upcoming away encounter. The Brazilian shot-stopper will hope to put up a strong performance and secure a clean sheet on Wednesday.
John Stones might replace Aymeric Laporte to form the centre-half partnership with Ruben Dias at the heart of City’s backline.
Oleksandr Zinchenko will replace Benjamin Mendy at the left-back position, whereas Kyle Walker will fill in on the other flank as the right-back. The full-backs will be expected to stay compact and keep their shape defensively.
Midfield
Rodri will continue to fulfil the holding midfield position and could be assigned more of a defensive role to shield the away side’s back-four.
Ilkay Gundogan will slot into the central midfield role, whereas Bernardo Silva is expected to start in the attacking midfield position.
Kevin De Bruyne picked up an unfortunate ankle injury against Chelsea, and as a result, the Belgian international is expected to miss out on the midweek clash.
‘Manchester City can confirm that Kevin de Bruyne suffered injury to his right foot and ankle in Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea. Kevin will continue to be reviewed but will miss Wednesday’s Premier League trip to Aston Villa.’ – Manchester City’s official website stated.
Attack
Phil Foden and Riyad Mahrez will take up the wide positions, playing on the left and right-wing respectively.
Gabriel Jesus will lead the line for the away side against Aston Villa. The Brazilian international will hope to get his name on the scoresheet when he faces off against the Villa defence that has kept just one clean sheet in their last five league matches.
Ferran Torres might be brought on in the second forty-five minutes of the contest if needed.
