Manchester City
v
Aston Villa
16:30 GMT
Manuel Pellegrinia s Manchester City welcome a formidable Aston Villa side at the Etihad stadium on Saturday. Tim Sherwooda s men will be high on confidence after their win last week against giants Liverpool FC in the FA Cup semi-finals. Villa will look forward to pick up at least a point from this encounter while the Cityzens will be up for full points.
It is going to be an interesting clash between the two sides and the two big managers will be up for some exciting tactical battle.
Team News& Tactical Brief
Manchester City
Manchester City have regained their momentum after picking up full points from their home fixture against Aston Villa last week. They are now convincingly placed in the fourth position in the league and another victory will consolidate their grip in the league table.
Manuel Pellegrini will be relieved with the news that his prime playmaker David Silva is declared fit to play and he will feature in tomorrowa s game against Aston Villa. Midfielder James Milner and forward Wilfried Bony too are pipped to join the squad after sitting out for a week due to injury. His only concern is that club captain and marquee defender Vincent Kompany will be sidelined due to a grueling injury along with Samir Nasri. The Chilean manager is likely to field an unchanged XI from last weeka s game with Frank Lampard in the starting lineup.
Probable Line-up (4-4-2): Hart; Zabaletta, Mangala, Demichelis, Kolarov; Toure, Fernando, Navas, Silva, Lampard;, Aguero
Aston Villa
Aston Villa will be spirited after a convincing win in the FA Cup semi-finals last week against Premier League giants Liverpool FC. Gabriel Agbonlahor is likely to return to the starting lineup after he missed the FA Cup game due to an injury.
Villa though have defensive concerns as they will miss the services of Philippe Senderos and Aly Sissokho due to thigh and groin injuries respectively. Also, Scott Sinclair is not eligible to play against his parent club Manchester City who came in loan to Villa.
Defender Nathan Baker who sustained an injury last game against Liverpool is likely to stay out. Jores Okore might replace him in the starting lineup.
Probable Line-up (4-3-3): Given; Bacuna, Vlaar, Okore, Richardson; Cleverely, Westwood, Delph; Grealish, Benteke, Agbonlahor
Key Stats
- Manchester Citya s Yaya Toure has scored in the last three Premier League games against Aston Villa.
- Belgian striker Christian Benteke has scored 9 goals in 9 Premier League games for Aston Villa inder Tim Sherwood
- Aston Villa has played extremely physical this season so far which is reflected in their Red Cards count this season which is seven.
- Manchester City’s track record against Aston Villa is extremely good as they have won 20 Premier League games which is more than any other team.
Key Players
Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)
Sergio Aguero is the most important player for Manchester City in this game. The Argentine is among the top goal scorers in the league and holds the ability to impose a huge threat on any defense. Manuel Pellegrini will heavily bank upon his star forward to shine and guide the team to a comfortable victory over Aston Villa. The Argentine also scored last week against West Ham and confirmed his teama s victory. Tim Sherwood will heavily depend on Ron Vlaar to keep an eye on the Argentine goal machine.
Christian Benteke (Aston Villa)
The Belgian international will be the most important player in the Aston Villa side against a formidable Manchester City side. Christian Benteke has scored 10 goals this season for the club and also netted the first goal of the game last week in the FA Cup semi-finals against Liverpool. With Gabriel Agbonlahor back in the side, the two strikers will surely impose a great threat on a relatively weak Manchester City defense in the absence of Vincent Kompany.
Final Prediction
Manchester City 2 Aston Villa 0
Manchester City are tipped to win this encounter against a weaker opposition Aston Villa side tomorrow at the Etihad Stadium. Pellegrini’s side will be desperate to register yet another victory at their own den and tighten their grip in the top four zone in the Premier League. Aston Villa too will want to gather at least a point from this match after a convincing win last week against Liverpool. Villa are currently placed 15th in the league a point or more will help them to improve their position.