At A Glance
Aston Villa journey to the Etihad Stadium seeking to do a Premier League double over reigning champions Manchester City.
A goal from Leon Bailey secured a 1-0 win in the reverse fixture at Villa Park in December, and Unai Emery’s team have since maintained their consistent form to remain in the hunt for a top four finish.
Victory against City would be the club’s first top flight away win at the Etihad since a 2-0 success back in April 2007.
City have dominated this fixture since the turn of the century, winning 31 of 46 games and losing just eight times.
Pep Guardiola’s current side are in the midst of a three-way fight for the title, sitting three points off the summit.
Since losing at Villa Park, the Citizens have compiled a 23-match unbeaten run in all competitions.
Standout Stats
Aston Villa beat Manchester City 1-0 in December and are vying for their first league double against them since 1962-63.
City have won 17 of their past 18 home league games versus Villa, including each of the previous 13.
The Villans' most recent league victory at the Etihad Stadium was on 28 April 2007, when John Carew and Shaun Maloney scored for the visitors.
City are winless in all six Premier League fixtures this season against teams currently in the top five of the table (D4, L2).
Unai Emery's side are unbeaten in five Premier League away matches since losing at Manchester United in December (W3, D2).
Sunday's goalless draw with Arsenal ended City’s club record run of scoring in 57 consecutive home games in all competitions.
Aston Villa's solitary victory in their past 30 league fixtures away to reigning top-flight champions was 1-0 versus Manchester United in 2009.
The last time City failed to score in back-to-back matches at the Etihad Stadium was March 2016, when Manuel Pellegrini's side drew 0-0 with Dynamo Kyiv and then lost 1-0 to Manchester United five days later.
Villa's shot conversion rate in the league this season is 14.4%, the highest they have recorded in a top-flight campaign since such data was first recorded in 1997-98.
Manchester City have drawn seven Premier League fixtures this season, their highest figure since sharing the points nine times in 2016-17.
Moussa Diaby has been involved in four goals in his last four Premier League appearances, scoring once and registering three assists, despite starting just one of these games.
Kevin de Bruyne is two short of 100 goals for Manchester City in all competitions and is set to become the seventh player to make 250 Premier League appearances for the club.
Victory against Wolves on Saturday was Villa’s 18th top-flight win of the season, matching their final total in 2022-23.
The Last Meeting
Leon Bailey’s second-half strike secured a deserved 1-0 victory over Manchester City back in December.
Bailey received the ball and surged towards goal before producing a piece of skill to cut inside and see his shot deflect off the foot of Ruben Dias and beat Ederson, sending a vociferous Villa Park into raptures.
The 74th-minute winner capped a superb, high-tempo display from Unai Emery’s dominant side which was full of energy, determination and quality, with the hosts enjoying 22 attempts at goal compared to City’s two.
Team News
Ollie Watkins and Jacob Ramsey have both been ruled out of the contest, with John McGinn also serving the final match of a three-game suspension.
Matty Cash, Tyrone Mings, Emi Buendia and Boubacar Kamara remain out.
For Manchester City, Nathan Ake, Kyle Walker and Ederson will miss out.
Pep Guardiola is unsure whether John Stones is fit enough to start.
The Boss
“I expect a very difficult match and that we will defend a lot tomorrow. I expect that in case we can dominate the match at some points to play with personality and try to use our power when we are with the ball. I am expecting their best performance. Getting their best performance, we will have to play being successful in everything. This is the opportunity we have. Each point we are playing for in the Premier League is very motivating for us. Our opportunity to repeat playing in Europe next season is fantastic.”
Unai Emery
