Manchester City will be bidding to return to winning ways as they welcome Aston Villa to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The Skyblues suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur last weekend, so they will be eager to pick up all three points from this home encounter.
Pep Guardiola should opt for the 4-3-3 formation and is expected to make a few changes to the starting XI. Phil Foden is expected to return after recovering from his illness but is unlikely to put up a fight for a regular starting spot while Kevin De Bruyne plays from the start in the central areas.
4-3-3 Manchester City Predicted XI Vs Aston Villa
Defence
Ederson Moraes will operate in between the sticks for Man City as he looks to secure a clean sheet at home. Manuel Akanji will form the customary centre-half partnership with Aymeric Laporte at the heart of Guardiola’s defence as they look to keep things solid at the back throughout the game.
Kyle Walker will fill in at right-back while Nathan Ake hopes to impress on the other flank as the left-back. Both of them will get the license to get forward and join in on the attack to stretch the opposition’s backline.
John Stones remains sidelined for the long term, so Ruben Dias and Sergio Gomez will take a spot on the bench as they provide cover for the defensive positions.
Midfield
Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri and Ilkay Gundogan will make up Man City’s midfield as they look to give a good account of themselves at the centre of the park and engineer enough chances for their team to win this weekend’s clash at home.
Kalvin Phillips and Bernardo Silva will have to settle for a spot on the bench as they await their chance to shine in the second half if required.
Attack
Jack Grealish will play as the left-sided wide player while Riyad Mahrez hopes to weave his magic from the right flank. Mahrez is enjoying a decent run of form of late and would look to be a constant menace in the final third.
Erling Haaland will spearhead Man City’s attack on his own up top following a rich run of form in the Premier League. The Norwegian striker will carry most of the goal-scoring workload for the Mancunian giants on the attacking end of the field.
