Aston Villa vs Man City: EPL preview, team news, how to watch, stream | Football News
Who: Aston Villa vs Manchester City
What: English Premier League
Where: Villa Park, Birmingham, United Kingdom
When: Saturday, 12:30 p.m. (12:30 GMT).
Follow Al Jazeera’s live text and photo breakdown and commentary stream.
According to coach Pep Guardiola, Manchester City will not try to overcome their current form crisis with new signings in January.
Four-time defending Premier League champions City have lost eight games in all competitions and have won just one of their last 11 games.
Last season’s surprise package, Aston Villa, is now waiting at Villa Park on Saturday, despite both clubs having underperformed this season. However, Guardiola said he would not try to rebuild his squad in the January transfer window when asked if the current squad could turn things around.
“I don’t know. That will be at the end of the season. At the end of the season we will see the situation,” Guardiola told reporters on Friday. “What I want is for my players to be back (from injury). I I feel like the team is really good. It’s not whether they’re good or bad players.
“We lost two important people for a while. We want players back and after what happens in the winter and what happens at the end of the season, the club and I will decide what is best for the team.”
City’s difficult season received another setback this week when it was confirmed that defender Ruben Dias will be out for up to four weeks with a muscle injury.
Guardiola has cited injuries to key players such as Rodri as a factor in his team’s problems and the loss of Dias compounds his problems, with the City coach adding that Dias was injured during this time Sunday’s 2-1 defeat against Manchester United.
“After 75 minutes against United he felt something. “He is strong and wanted to stay on the pitch, but now he is injured,” Guardiola said.
City’s worrying run has accelerated from five straight defeats to one win and three defeats in six games, compounded by Manchester United’s turnaround in derby victory at the Etihad Stadium. Guardiola, who signed a two-year contract extension in NovemberHe admits that the run It was difficult to live witheven for a manager of his stature.
“I just finished a game where we were close to winning and lost. “I wasn’t happy with what happened,” said the Spaniard. “Here, six or seven days ago, I tried to be honest with myself. If you fall down six times, you have to get up seven times.
“I’m fine. I’m a normal person with feelings like all of us. When a situation is going well, we are better, and when things aren’t going well professionally, we concentrate more on what we have to do.”
Villa finished fourth in the league last season, thereby securing Champions League qualification. This campaign proved more difficult for Unai Emery’s team to manage.
The Villains sit seventh in the table but a win on Saturday would see them climb above City to fifth and potentially fourth if they win by three clear goals.
They would have already secured this place in the last game on Monday had it not been for a defeat against Nottingham Forest, who secured themselves the coveted fourth place in the Champions League qualification.
This came after a three-game winning streak in which Villa began to recapture last season’s form and Emery remains in high spirits despite the daunting task of facing the wounded champions.
“Of course it’s a very tough and exciting game for us,” said the former Arsenal coach. “The motivation to play against Manchester City at home will also be great for our fans.
“With our support at Villa Park we will overcome everything. My assessment now is: carry on. We are in the league trying to get better and of course we accept everything we do and always try to improve.
“(City) is a very good test and another competition, the Champions League, is coming up, the FA Cup. For me, the assessment now only refers to this game.”
Who are the big winners of Matchweek 16? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/EUJZMZfpLm
— Premier League (@premierleague) December 17, 2024
Aston Villa team news
Tyrone Mings and Leon Bailey are both in the squad for the game against City. According to Emery, Jacob Ramsey is “progressing well but is not ready to be available yet.”
Man City team news
Dias is on City’s injured list with a muscle problem. Midfielder Rodri remains out of action for an extended period, while goalkeeper Ederson is also a doubt.
John Stones, Mateo Kovacic and Manuel Akanji could all return, while Rico Lewis is back from suspension.
Head to head
This will be the 182nd meeting between the clubs, with City winning 81 of the encounters and Villa winning 58 times.
City won the last match 4-1 at the Etihad Stadium in April, Villa however 1-0 win in the same game at Villa Park in December last year, with Leon Bailey scoring the only goal with 16 minutes to play.
Villa had not won 15 previous meetings with City – of which the Cityzens won 13.
