Bottom of the table Aston Villa host league-leaders Manchester City at Villa Park on Sunday, in Rémi Garde’s first game since returning to the Premier League.
It is also the first time former Villa captain Fabian Delph will play against his old club since leaving over the Summer in what was an incredibly controversial transfer which saw the England international pledge his allegiance to the claret and blue, only to leave for Manchester only days later. It is a guarantee that the Villa Park crowd will make their feelings toward the 25-year-old.
All eyes will be on what team Remi Garde puts out, with fans eager to see how the Frenchman sets his players up following a disappointing selections by interim boss Kevin MacDonald against Tottenham last Monday night.
Villa are desperate for points and will not be favourites to get one let alone all three in B6 on Sunday with Man City going into this fixture on the back of qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League. Momentum will be with the visitors as they look to extend their lead at the top of the table.
Key Battle – Villa’s Defence vs Wilfried Bony
It is difficult to determine what they key encounter will be this weekend, with Rémi Garde’s first game in charge for Villa there are no definite starters. Anyone can take a guess as to who the Frenchman will choose to try and stop the City attack on Sunday, Ciaran Clark, Jores Okore, Joleon Lescott and Micah Richards could all be chosen to play at centre-back for the Villans.
With Sergio Aguero out, City are now looking at Wilfried Bony to pitch in with a few goals. Having scored midweek in the 3-1 away to Sevilla in the Champions League, the striker will fancy his chances against bottom of the table Villa.
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Team News
Villa have three players who may not feature on Sunday. Richards, who missed the Spurs defeat due to suspension, has a knock, while Gabby Agbonlahor was substituted at White Hart Lane after struggling with a calf injury. Midfielder Ashley Westwood was also replaced after a head injury and may not be available to face the Sky Blues.
Manuel Pellegrini will be without Pablo Zabaleta, David Silva, Samir Nasri and of course the talismanic Agureo going into the game, but City have plenty of firepower in Raheem Sterling, Kevin De Bruyne and Yaya Toure to pose threats.
Head-to-head
The record books favour this weekend’s visitors, with City winning 69 of the 166 games played. Villa have won 57 in comparison, with only eight of them in the Premier League era.
Last time out the Sky Blues overcame Villa in a 3-2 win at the Etihad Stadium in April. Aguero and Aleksandar Kolarov put the Manchester side 2-0 up, with Tom Cleverly and Carlos Sanchez making it 2-2 with five minutes left, Fernandinho grabbed the winner with only seconds to go.
Prediction
Garde takes over the Villa helm at an unfortunate time ahead of this meeting with a City side that are high on confidence and coping well with key injuries. Expect there to be some rejuvenation in the claret and blue with the arrival of the new manager, but this result should be very pedestrian.
Aston Villa 0 Manchester City 3
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