image via - @ManCity/ X

PL Match Preview – Manchester City vs. Aston Villa – Pep Guardiola Addressing Every Game As ‘Finals’, Predicted Lineups and More

Manchester City has not lost to Aston Villa in the past 14 Games.

image via - @ManCity/ X

The Cityzens will face Aston Villa at the Etihad Stadium in the match week 34 of the Premier League. After the Nottingham Forest win over Tottenham on Monday, the pressure will be back on Manchester City and Villa sides who compete for the Champions League spot.

Aston Villa, after an exit from the Champions League, will have their focus back on English football. Having the Manchester City game on Tuesday and the FA Cup semi-final later this week, Unai Emery is heading into a crucial week for the conclusion of the campaign.

🔵 | Manchester City have won their last 14 home games against Aston Villa in all competitions… And barring the first match of that run, the Cityzens have also scored two or more goals in 13 of those fixtures.

Talk about home field advantage. 🏟 #MCIAVL | #MCFC pic.twitter.com/ey1s6yxgja
— Betfred (@Betfred) April 22, 2025

Manchester City Team News

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola will have all of his squad from last week available against Aston Villa. However, Erling Haaland and Ederson will continue to be on the sidelines after getting injured in April. Guardiola will also miss Nathan Ake and John Stones from his defence lines.

Keeping an eye on the FA Cup semi-final at the weekend, the Spanish manager could make some switches to rotate the squad over two games. Guardiola calling every clash from here on as ‘finals’, the 54-year-old in his pre-match conference said:

When asked if this game could significantly impact the final placings, he replied, “Absolutely.”

“After that, the game against Wolves will be a final again. Every game counts. Aston Villa are a contender to qualify for the Champions League. The game against PSG and my friend Luis Enrique, I was impressed.”

Manchester City has sticked to 4-2-3-1 shape with Omar Marmoush leading the lines in Haaland’s absence. Nico O’Reilly who has filled in for six games will also be expected to start.

Manchester City Predicted Lineup

Manchester City Predicted XI: Ortega; Nunes, Khusanov, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Gonzalez, Kovacic; Savinho, De Bruyne, Doku; Marmoush.

It’s been a mixed bag for Aston Villa assets in Gameweek 33 😅

Which side have you been on? 🥳😔#FPL pic.twitter.com/lXcaZmbDwV
— Fantasy Premier League (@OfficialFPL) April 22, 2025

Aston Villa Team News

Aston Villa played with most of the choices available against Newcastle for the first time in months. Reflecting on the availability of the squad, manager Unai Emery in his pre-match conference said:

“Like the last match we played, on Saturday against Newcastle, it was the first time every player was available, to choose the squad, to choose the starting 11 and to choose the players on the bench.

“Of course, I like to have this decision every match playing as I did, but some players, have to be out, and we can increase our competitive way through the players being available to try to be very demanding.”

ALSO READ: A Total Embarrassment: Jamie Vardy Apologises for Leicester’s Relegation

Aston Villa has been on a winning streak in England since late February. Emery will test the Etihad walls as the team has scored 10 goals in their past three games. Moreover, after defeating the Magpies last week, they will thrive on confidence.

With only a three-point difference between third-placed Forest and seventh-placed Aston Villa, the final match weeks have turned into finals for the four sides. Newcastle (4th) after dropping points to Villa and Chelsea registering a win, the gap has narrowed to thin margins as the last six match weeks remain.

Aston Villa Predicted Lineup

Aston Villa Predicted XI: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne; Kamara, Onana, Tielemans, McGinn; Rogers, Rashford.

Manchester City vs Aston Villa Betting Odds

Odds via – BetMGM

Teams	Moneyline	Total Goals
Manchester City	Win: -121 Draw: +300	Over 2.5: +190 Under 2.5: -286
Aston Villa	Win: +290 Draw: +300	Over 3.5: +480 Under 3.5: -1115

Aston Villa

Manchester City

Pep Guardiola

Premier League

Unai Emery

Mayur Dedwal

soccer

I’m a Sports Content Writer with expertise in football. Being a decade old football enthusiast and part-time coach, I try to bring to life to the articles in a statistical manner. Being around all kinds of sports updates and able to put in my perspective’s to the happenings in the world of football are few of the many things i like in doing what i do. You can find me playing Sunday leagues or Xbox on weekends!