Confirmed Line-Ups: Aston Villa vs Manchester City (Premier League)
Manchester City visit Aston Villa in search of a third straight win in the Premier League on Saturday evening.
Pep Guardiola's men were at their supreme best in midweek with Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez firmly amongst the goals in a 6-0 thrashing of Nottingham Forest.
Sitting in second place in the table ahead of a tricky test against Steven Gerrard's men, the Premier League champions will be looking to avoid any slip-ups as a tricky schedule awaits the Blues.
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City open their Champions League campaign against Sevilla on Tuesday evening before Tottenham visit the Etihad Stadium next weekend.
Aston Villa were again handed a defeat in midweek as Arsenal maintained their perfect start to the season with a narrow 2-1 triumph at the Emirates Stadium.
Gerrard is facing no fresh injury concerns ahead of a visit from the Premier League champions, with long-term absentee Diego Carlos still recovering from surgery on his Achilles' tendon.
Jack Grealish and Nathan Ake both trained with the squad on Friday but have been assessed further before they return to action.
Grealish has been out since the England international took a blow in City's 4-0 win over Bournemouth a few weeks ago.
Ake was hauled off in City's 3-3 draw with Newcastle, with Ruben Dias coming on for the 27-year-old in the first half against the Magpies at St. James' Park.
The Dutch centre-half made a promising start to the season and Guardiola will be wary of rushing any of injured players back in amidst a jam-packed schedule.
The games will come thick and fast for the Blues as they compete on all fronts with a relatively slim squad despite the additions made in the transfer window.
City announced the signing of Manuel Akanji from Borussia Dortmund on a five-year contract on deadline day to bolster their defensive options for the season.
Aymeric Laporte remains on the sidelines but is expected to return following the international break at the end of the month, as Guardiola mentioned in his press conference on Friday.
Here are the confirmed teams for both sides on matchday five of the Premier League campaign:
Aston Villa
Starting XI: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Digne; Ramsey, Kamara, Luiz, McGinn; Watkins, Bailey.
Substitutes: Olsen, Chambers, Augustinsson, Bednarek, Young, Coutinho, Buendia, Ings, Archer.
Manchester City
Starting XI: Ederson, Walker, Dias, Stones, Cancelo, Rodrigo, Gundogan (C), De Bruyne, Bernardo, Foden, Haaland.
Substitutes: Ortega Moreno, Ake, Grealish, Alvarez, Gomez, Mahrez, Palmer, Lewis, Wilson-Esbrand.
Topics: Manchester City, Premier League, Aston Villa, Football, Pep Guardiola, Steven Gerrard
Vayam Lahoti