Manchester City vs Aston Villa – Match preview and team news

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The Football Faithful

·22 avril 2025

Manchester City vs Aston Villa – Match preview and team news

It’s a crunch match in the race for Champions League football tonight as Manchester City face Aston Villa.

Only a single point separates the two sides heading into this evening’s rearranged fixture. due to the involvement of both clubs in the FA Cup semi-finals.

Vidéos OneFootball

Two late goals at the weekend saw Pep Guardiola’s side beat Everton 2-0 at Goodison Park. City have no fresh injury concerns to contend with from their victory on Merseyside. Phil Foden and Manuel Akanji were back in the squad at the weekend – with the latter making a late cameo appearance after spending two months on the sidelines. Stefan Ortega will continue to deputise for the injured Ederson while John Stones, Nathan Ake and Erling Haaland remain out.

Aston Villa emphatically beat Newcastle United 4-1 on a Saturday, a huge statement over a Champions League final.

A big one on the road — IT’S MATCHDAY! 🛣️
– mardi 22 avril 2025

Pau Torres was the only senior player omitted from the squad due to a slight knock. But Unai Emery announced his upcoming team selection will be without any restrictions, a huge privilege at this point of the season.

Manchester City vs Aston Villa – Match preview and team news

Form

Manchester City: WWDWW

City extended their unbeaten streak to six games with a 2-0 triumph against Everton last weekend.

They left it late at Goodison Park – with both Nico O’Reilly and Mateo Kovacic’s goals arriving in the last 10 minutes.

Knee slide and a badge kiss in front of the Everton fans 😮‍💨 Back-to-back Premier League goals for young Nico O'Reilly ⚽️
– samedi 19 avril 2025

Pep Guardiola will be delighted with his side’s defensive solidity. The shut-out against Everton was their third clean sheet in their last four matches. Manchester United and Leicester City also failed to find a route through City’s resistance in recent weeks.

Three points this evening would see the reigning champions climb into third position, albeit temporarily. Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United will have the opportunity to reclaim their spots in the top four.

Aston Villa: WLWWW

Villa put four past a high-flying Newcastle United to ensure they remained in the chase for Champions League qualification.

Ollie Watkins marked his return to the starting eleven with a deflected goal inside the opening minute. In the second period, Ian Maatsen netted his first league goal for the club and Amadou Onana thundered in their fourth either side of a Dan Burn own goal.

Villa Park has been a fortress this campaign, with the Villans only losing once there all season. Despite the win, results elsewhere meant Villa remained in seventh position in the Premier League.

History suggests Unai Emery and his players will struggle at the Etihad Stadium tonight. You have to go back to 2012 to find their last win at the ground, a 4-2 victory in the League Cup.

Last Meeting: Aston Villa 2-1 Manchester City, Premier League, 21st December 2024

City’s abysmal run stretched to only one win in 12 matches following a defeat at Villa Park.

With just 19 seconds on the clock, Jhon Duran almost gave his side the perfect start. A sloppy back pass from Josko Gvardiol was pounced on by the Colombian, who now plies his trade in the Saudi League with Al Nassr. However, the subsequent audacious attempt to catch out Stefan Ortega was tame and made it much more comfortable for the goalkeeper than it should have been.

From the resulting corner, the hosts were a matter of inches away from opening the scoring. Pau Torres’ header was clawed away by Ortega, with replays showing only a fraction of the ball hadn’t crossed the line.

Duran atoned for his earlier miss to break the deadlock just past the quarter of an hour mark. Youri Tielemans’ defence-splitting pass released Morgan Rogers, who unselfishly teed up his striker for a simple finish.

The Citizens reacted to going behind by testing Emiliano Martinez through Phil Foden. His measured effort needed to be pushed around the post.

On the hour mark, Rogers was denied by the frame of the goal. The midfielder was combining with Duran to devastating effect and his rasping drive clattered the upright.

Five minutes later, the former City youngster refined his finishing to double Villa’s advantage. The midfielder carried the ball over 40 yards before receiving it back off John McGinn and picking out the bottom corner.

Foden halved the deficit in stoppage time with a clinical strike following scrappy defending, but it wasn’t enough to prevent Unai Emery’s outfit from collecting all three points.

Predicted Lineups

Manchester City: Ortega; Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Gundogan, Kovacic, De Bruyne; Doku, Savinho; Marmoush.

Aston Villa: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Maatsen; Onana, Tielemans; McGinn, Rogers, Rashford; Watkins.

Who is the referee?

Craig Pawson will be the match official. Nick Hopton and Craig Taylor will assist him while Matt Donohue will be the fourth official. John Brooks will be on VAR duty and Tim Wood will be his assistant.