Manchester City will visit Villa Park on Wednesday to face Aston Villa in this midweek clash in the Premier League. After three back to back wins in the league, Pep Guardiola’s men will look to extend their winning run and put the pressure on table-toppers Chelsea who dropped points against Manchester United on Sunday. City’s win against West Ham saw them move only 1 point behind Chelsea and any further points dropped by the Blues will see the defending champions go on top again.
Predicted Manchester City Lineup Vs West Ham
Defence
The ever-reliable Ederson will remain the guaranteed starter between the sticks with the Brazilian already having 7 cleansheets in the league this season.
Aymeric Laporte will be a notable absentee in the defence with the Spanish International suspended for accumulating 5 yellow cards in the league. John Stones will be a potent replacement and he will start alongside Ruben Dias in the heart of the defence.
Fullbacks Kyle Walker and Joao Cancelo will be key in City’s build-up play, particularly the Portuguese whose creativity has been a big plus for Guardiola in matches where the opponents defend deep.
Midfield
Kevin De Bruyne is still considered out for the clash against Villa this week after testing positive for Covid-19. Ilkay Gundogan is expected to keep his place after a terrific display against West Ham. Rodri will occupy the holding midfield position and will look to control the tempo of the game and will be key in defensive transitions when City lose the ball.
Bernardo Silva will play in an advance position in the midfield three and will be key in City’s attacking build-up as he has been throughout the season. His dribbling has been a joy to watch and his ability to create space with his close control has been an issue for the opposition to deal with.
Attack
Both Jack Grealish and Phil Foden are back in training after sustaining injuries but Pep Guardiola is reluctant on rushing them straight back into the starting eleven. It is believed that they will be back on the bench for this week’s clash against Villa and try to make an impact later in the game.
Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez will operate from the opposite wings and will be a major threat to the Villa defenders. Gabriel Jesus will take up the central role and will look to drop between spaces and also go wide sometimes when needed to form a versatile front three on the pitch.
