TEAM NEWS
Manchester City defender Nathan Ake is ruled out after being injured against Arsenal.
Kyle Walker and Ederson remain missing, while manager Pep Guardiola is unsure whether John Stones, who was an unused substitute on Sunday, is fit enough to start.
Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins is sidelined by a hamstring issue, with Jhon Duran set to deputise for him.
Jacob Ramsey and Matty Cash are out and John McGinn completes a suspension.
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
- 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.
Manchester City
- City are winless in all six Premier League fixtures this season against teams currently in the top five of the table (D4, L2).
- Sunday’s goalless draw with Arsenal ended their club record run of scoring in 57 consecutive home games in all competitions.
- The last time they 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.
- Manchester City have drawn seven Premier League fixtures this season, their highest figure since sharing the points nine times in 2016-17.
- Erling Haaland has failed to score in 12 of his past 17 appearances for club and country, including each of the last five, though he still has 10 goals in total during this run.
- 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.
Aston Villa
- Unai Emery’s side are unbeaten in five Premier League away matches since losing at Manchester United in December (W3, D2).
- Victory against Wolves on Saturday was their 18th top-flight win of the season, matching their final total in 2022-23.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.