Manchester City will host Aston Villa on Saturday in the Premier League and they will hope to close the gap on league leaders Liverpool, who face Tottenham on Sunday.
City were dominant in the Champions League in mid-week, winning 5-1 against Atalanta, while they also comfortably defeated Crystal Palace in the Premier League last weekend.
Pep Guardiola has a few injury worries to deal with, especially in the defensive side of things, which will be a cause for concern before the match against Villa.
Villa, meanwhile, have been in good form lately, winning three of their last four Premier League games.
Let’s take a look at the possible lineup that Guardiola may put out for Saturday:
Manchester City Team News
Rodri, who was moved to the back to play alongside Fernandinho, was replaced in the game against Atalanta after injuring himself. He will miss out.
Predicted Manchester City Lineup vs Aston Villa
Goalkeeper
Ederson will start in goal for Manchester City against Aston Villa.
Defence
City’s injury crisis at the back worsened in the Champions League game against Atalanta. Rodri, who was moved to the back to play alongside Fernandinho, was replaced after injuring himself in the game. He will most likely miss the game against Villa this weekend.
John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi were on the bench for the European encounter, with both of them getting game time in the match. Stones replaced Rodri just before half-time, while Otamendi was brought on in the 67th minute.
Fernandinho should start at the back, with Stones mostly partnering him. João Cancelo should start the game at right-back, while Benjamin Mendy will most likely start at left-back as Oleksandr Zinchenko missed the last game due to injury.
Midfield
Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gündogan should start in the middle of the park, having started the last two games for City.
David Silva was an unused substitute for the Champions League encounter, and he could return to the side for the game against Aston Villa.
Attack
Sergio Aguero played the entire game against Atalanta, while Gabriel Jesus – who started last weekend’s Premier League tie – was an unused substitute. Jesus should return to the Manchester City lineup and start as City’s striker.
Raheem Sterling scored a fantastic hat-trick against Atalanta, and he should start on the left. Bernardo Silva could come into the side in place of Riyad Mahrez on the right.
