Manchester City will travel to Villa Park to face off against Aston Villa on Sunday evening hoping to pick up maximum points on the road. The Citizens will come into this game on the back of a dominant 3-1 win over Manchester United in the EFL Cup in midweek. So their confidence will be sky-high heading into this contest versus the Villans in the Premier League.
Pep Guardiola is expected to opt for a 4-3-3 formation and might make a few changes to his side for this clash.
4-3-3 Manchester City Predicted Lineup To Face Aston Villa
Defence
Ederson will return to the Man City first-team after being rested in midweek. John Stones could get the nod to start alongside Fernandinho at the centre of Guardiola’s defence. The defensive pair will try their best to keep things solid at the back against the Villans on Sunday.
Kyle Walker will look to cause a few problems for the opposition down the right flank while Benjamin Mendy operates on the other side as the left-back. Both Man City full-backs will be instructed to push high up the pitch so that they can win the ball back quickly and create some decent openings in the final third.
Guardiola will be desperate to see his side improve their defensive record by securing a clean sheet away at Villa Park. Aymeric Laporte is unlikely to recover in time to feature in this contest, but Nicolas Otamendi should be fit enough for a place on the bench.
Midfield
The Citizens midfield will be comprised of Bernardo Silva, Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne as they focus on interchanging passes with each other so that they can cook up some decent goal-scoring opportunities for the front players.
De Bruyne will be the away team’s chief playmaker while Silva provides more energy and running alongside him. Rodri will assume the duties of a deep-lying holding midfielder as his task will be to break up the Villa attacks.
Ilkay Gundogan and Phil Foden will have to settle for a spot on the bench, but they might get a chance to feature in this game if required.
Attack
Guardiola will stick with his favoured front three of Raheem Sterling, Sergio Aguero and Riyad Mahrez for this clash against the West Midlands outfit. Aguero was rested in midweek so he should be fit and ready to score a goal or two this weekend.
Gabriel Jesus will be used as an impact substitute if things are not going according to plan for the Citizens on Sunday.
