Manchester City will hope to end a run of three straight draws when they travel to Villa Park.
Manchester City will be without two key players for the midweek trip to face Aston Villa.
Rodri and Jack Grealish both picked up yellow cards in Sunday’s 3-3 draw against Tottenham Hotspur, their fifth respectively of the campaign so far, meaning they have incurred automatic one-game suspensions. Their absences come at a difficult time for Pep Guardiola, who may not be able to call upon natural replacements due to injury.
John Stones, who has been an unused substitute in the last three matches, hasn’t played since 7 November due to a hip issue and Guardiola said recently that he will need to undergo a strength programme for the recurring injury. But the defender may be required with Rodri out, and Guardiola claimed last month that his side would be in trouble if they lined up without both the Spaniard and Stones in the middle.
As for Grealish, his suspension means he won’t start at Villa Park for the third year in a row since his £100m move from his boyhood club in 2021. Jeremy Doku went off with a knock on Sunday and Guardiola will provide more information in Tuesday’s press conference.
If the Belgian is missing, City could hand Oscar Bobb a first league start, following four substitute appearances this season. Meanwhile, Matheus Nunes is expected to be unavailable through injury, while Kevin De Bruyne won’t be back until the new year.
As for Villa, they recently welcomed back Alex Moreno and Jacob Ramsey from long-term injury, and Ollie Watkins also recovered from a knock in time to face Bournemouth at the weekend.
There are no fresh injury issues for the Villans, who have been without Tyrone Mings and Emiliano Buendia for almost the entire campaign. Bertrand Traore has missed the last three through injury, although the winger plays a fringe role in Unai Emery’s squad.
The Villa Park fixture pits third against fourth, and a home win would see the Midlands club move above City in the table. As for the champions, they’ll be hoping to end a run of three straight league draws, against a Villa side who have won the last 13 at home.
Doubt: Doku (City). Out: Mings, Buendia, Traore (Villa); Rodri, Nunes, De Bruyne, Grealish (City)
