At A Glance
The champions are in town on Saturday evening when Manchester City arrive for a Premier League clash against Aston Villa.
Steven Gerrard’s team, who came close to denying City the title on the final day of last season, are looking to improve upon a record of one win in five league games to start the campaign.
Deadline day signings Leander Dendoncker and Jan Bednarek will hope to help Villa end a run of three straight defeats, which were inflicted by London sides Crystal Palace, West Ham United and Arsenal.
In contrast, City have dropped two points from their first five matches, with Newcastle United the only side to slow them down.
Pep Guardiola’s team have racked up 19 goals along the way, hitting Nottingham Forest for six last time out.
Marquee summer signing Erling Haaland has taken to English football seamlessly and the Norweigan has netted a hat-trick in each of the past two games.
Standout Stats
City have won 14 of their last 16 league games against Villa (D1, L1) - their only defeat in this run was a 3-2 loss at Villa Park in September 2013.
The champions have won 28 Premier League games against the Villans - against no side do they have a better record.
Defeat would see Villa lose five of their opening six top-flight matches for the first time since 1986-87, a season which saw them finish bottom.
The Villans have lost 15 of their last 16 Premier League games against the reigning champions, with the exception the 7-2 victory over Liverpool in October 2020.
Ollie Watkins has scored five goals in four top-flight appearances versus the reigning champions.
Philippe Coutinho has netted in five of his seven league games against Manchester City.
Manchester City's haul of 19 goals is their highest after five games of a league season.
They are vying to score multiple goals in a 15th successive Premier League fixture, which would equal the record set by Liverpool in 2019.
City are unbeaten in 20 Premier League away games (W15, D5) - there have only been four instances of longer such runs in the competition.
Erling Haaland has scored nine goals in five Premier League appearances. The player to have reached 10 Premier League goals in the fewest appearances is Mick Quinn, who did so in six games for Coventry in 1992.
The Last Meeting
Aston Villa did their best to ruin Manchester City’s title hopes on the final day of the 2021/22 season.
The visitors looked to be heading for a famous victory when Matty Cash and Philippe Coutinho put them 2-0 up after 69 minutes.
But Pep Guardiola’s side showed all the quality to hit back with three goals and five minutes and take the Premier League title.
Team News
Deadline day signings Leander Dendoncker and Jan Bednarek will be assessed ahead of the game, with the former dealing with a throat complaint.
Diego Carlos remains Villa’s only long-term injury absentee.
Former Villan Jack Grealish is nearing a return from a knee injury, with Nathan Ake and Kalvin Phillips also close to a comeback.
Aymeric Laporte is likely to be out for another month with a knee problem.
The Boss
“It goes without saying that you’re playing against one of the best teams in the world. They’re littered with world class stars and arguably the best manager out there. That’s the challenge for us. We’ve run this Manchester City side close on both occasions that I’ve personally competed against them with this team. The plan will be to make it extremely hard for them and to take them to places where they don’t want to go.”
Steven Gerrard
