Aston Villa will take on Manchester City as they travel to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon hoping to put up a strong fight. The Villans come into the match on the back of a disappointing 4-2 defeat at the hands of Leicester City. On the other hand, the Sky Blues suffered a 1-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur last weekend.
Unai Emery will opt for the 4-4-2 formation and is expected to keep the changes to a minimum. Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins will continue as a two-man strike team to lead the line against Man City.
4-4-2 Aston Villa Predicted XI Vs Manchester City
Defence
Emiliano Martinez will continue to operate in goal for his side hoping to keep a clean sheet as he features from the start. Ezri Konsa will function alongside Tyrone Mings at the heart of Villa’s backline as they try to keep the opposition attackers at bay throughout the game.
Ashley Young will take the right-back position while Alex Moreno looks to operate on the opposite flank. Both of them will get forward and join in on the attack while keeping a solid defensive shape at the back to stop the opposition from creating too many chances from the wide areas.
Lucas Digne and Calum Chambers will take a spot on the bench to provide cover for the defensive positions.
Midfield
Boubacar Kamara and Douglas Luiz will keep their places to anchor the midfield for Unai Emery’s side as they try to dominate the opposition at the centre of the park.
Jacob Ramsey and Emi Buendia will feature on the right and left flank respectively operating from the middle as they look to provide support from the wide areas and try to create opportunities in front of the goal.
Leon Dendoncker and Matty Cash will have to settle for a spot on the bench as they wait for their chance to impress in the second half if Emery decides to call upon his services.
Attack
As mentioned earlier, Ollie Watkins and Leon Bailey will form a two-man strike team to lead the charge for the Villans. Both of them will fancy their chances of finding the back of the net against the opposition’s defence.
Phillipe Coutinho will have to be content with a place on the bench and might come on to influence the game in the final quarter of the match if the West Midlands club are in need of a goal by then.
