Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden and Ruben Dias to ALL return – Predicted XI: Manchester City vs Aston Villa (Premier League)
Manchester City have the chance to redeem themselves after a disappointing display away at Tottenham last Sunday.
After a week filled with pandemonium and uncertainty, the one constant for Pep Guardiola and his players is the upcoming game against Aston Villa on Sunday.
PLAYING
The noise surrounding the club over the last week will have impacted the players in one way or another, and only time will tell whether the effect works in favour of or against the current Premier League champions.
Aston Villa arrive into the game as a revitalised side, after current manager Unai Emery breathed new life into the squad following an unsuccessful tenure from Steven Gerrard.
Villa sit 11th, 10 points clear of the drop zone and only five points outside of a European spot, making them a dangerous side to face.
Despite the poor spell in charge for Gerrard, he did manage to nick a point in the reverse fixture back in September, after Erling Haaland’s early second half goal was cancelled out by Leon Bailey’s strike later on in the game, as City left Villa Park with a 1-1 draw feeling slightly aggrieved they didn’t manage to grab all three points.
Following the 1-0 defeat last Sunday to Tottenham, City have a mountain to climb now if they are to win the league again in May, and that’s before taking the fresh charges for alleged financial breaches into account.
With that being said, City must remain focused on the task, and here is how we predict Manchester City to line-up in their latest domestic quest.
Predicted XI
Despite recent comments from Bolton Wanderers manager Ian Evatt suggesting a shake-up in the City goalkeeping department in the summer, we expect Ederson to retain his ever-present Premier League place on Sunday.
Rico Lewis is becoming a staple in the side at the minute, and we expect him to continue his run of starts in the Premier League at right-back, despite operating as an inverted left-back in the defeat to Tottenham.
Manuel Akanji has hardly put a foot wrong since breaking into the side and is becoming one of Guardiola’s more reliable players this season, adapting quickly to the Premier League and earning a spot in the team.
After being side-lined through injury for what seems like an eternity, we expect Ruben Dias to make his return this weekend for Manchester City in defence.
Joao Cancelo’s departure which forced Nathan Ake to adjust to life as a Manchester City full-back, as well as an injury to John Stones last month against Arsenal leaves central defensive options relatively scarce, so it’s ultimately a toss up between Ruben Dias and Aymeric Laporte, but we fancy a return for Dias this weekend to partner Manuel Akanji.
Speaking of Nathan Ake, the Dutch defender is having a brilliant season and is quickly becoming a favourite, offering Guardiola versatile brilliance in defence which makes his inclusion an easy one to predict.
Rodri is perhaps the safest bet in a Guardiola team, as we expect the Spaniard to retain his place in defensive midfield.
After being left out of the starting line-up in the away defeat to Tottenham for “tactical reasons”, a second consecutive seclusion would be a real shock for Kevin De Bruyne, so we fancy him to make his return in midfield for City.
His absence from the side last weekend came as a shock to many – despite his poor form for club and country for his standards. The Belgian’s output is unquestionable, but his performances haven’t quite been at the level we’ve become accustomed to seeing from him.
Take your pick between Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan, but we suspect the club captain might make his presence felt in the midfield for the Blues after a turbulent week at the club.
Gundogan is another one who hasn’t quite had his usual impact this season, with the best example of this being the last time City welcomed Aston Villa to the Etihad in the enthralling encounter on the final day of the 2021/22 season.
Despite his dip in form recently, his leadership will be important on the field in what is a huge game for the home side.
Riyad Mahrez is proving himself somewhat immovable in the side at the minute, as one of Manchester City’s most in form players. The Algerian is only 1 of 2 players in double digits for goals this season (No prizes for guessing who he partners).
Erling Haaland is surely set to keep his place up top for Manchester City. The goal record justifies his name in any team sheet in the world, and being without a goal in his last 2 games, we fancy him to amend that and grab at least one this weekend.
After being out of favour, injured and ill, Phil Foden has to prove himself if he wants to regain his place in the City team, after a string of impressive showings from Jack Grealish.
Foden is another player who hasn’t quite gelled in the new system with the integration of Haaland. However, we predict Guardiola will give Foden the chance to redeem himself and slowly incorporate himself back into the line-up more often with a start on Sunday.
Predicted XI: Ederson, Lewis, Akanji, Dias, Ake, Rodri, De Bruyne, Gundogan, Mahrez, Foden. Haaland.
Substitutes: Ortega, Walker, Laporte, Gomez, Phillips, Bernardo, Alvarez, Grealish, Palmer.
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