Pep Guardiola's Manchester City has a tough task this Saturday, beating Aston Villa away from home to break the poor form haunting the reigning English champions. The situation is critical. With eight losses in their last 11 games, the Citizens have fallen to 5th place, with just 27 points on the table. The gap to leaders Liverpool is already nine points, and a win is more urgent than ever in order not to let the situation get out of control completely.
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On the other side, Aston Villa sees a golden opportunity to overtake City. The team led by Unai Emery sits in 7th place with 25 points and, despite some inconsistencies this season, comes into this match at Villa Park motivated for the challenge. The Spanish coach didn't hide his excitement for the duel.
"It's a very difficult and exciting match for us. The motivation to play against Manchester City at home for our fans will be great. We respect them a lot. We're facing the best team of recent years, clearly, in the Premier League."
The crisis at Manchester City
City arrive with pressure. As if recent setbacks weren't enough, Guardiola has problems in defense. The manager confirmed that Rúben Dias will be out for up to four weeks due to a muscle injury. The Portuguese defender, who had already missed games in November, returned but worsened the issue against Manchester United.
"Rúben is out for a long time," said Guardiola. "Three or four weeks. Muscular. He felt something, but he's very strong and wanted to stay on the field."
Besides Dias, Manchester City will also still be without Nathan Aké and is uncertain about goalkeeper Ederson's availability. On the bright side, however, there is some good news: John Stones and Manuel Akanji have returned to training and could be options, but Guardiola remains cautious: "Manuel and John are back in training. That's good for us. The more players return, the better. I still don't know if they can start against Aston Villa."
While Rico Lewis was suspended for the Manchester derby last week and is expected to be back in the squad.
Aston Villa has eyes for the top
While City struggles, Aston Villa sees an opportunity to climb higher. Unai Emery's team, still seeking stability this season, knows a win might change their campaign. With injuries keeping both Jacob Ramsey and Leon Bailey on the sidelines, Emery has faith in his players and did not fail to praise the opponent.
“Maybe they haven't been consistent because of different circumstances, but they're the best, and their coach is the best. We're going to face them, and the most important thing is how we face them. How we respond, how we test them-that's what matters most to me."
Guardiola praises Villa and the challenge at Villa Park
Pep Guardiola is under no illusion that Aston Villa will be a tough nut to crack. The margins are so fine after such a damaging run of results, and one mistake might prove very costly. The City manager hailed Unai Emery and acknowledged how well the opposing team has done: "An excellent coach who has dealt with many things. They've done very well. They have a deep squad, it's very good. In that sense, it's impressive."