Aston Villa vs Manchester City: Premier League – live

Important events

Jack Grealish warms up after returning to Villa Park. Photo: Hannah McKay/Reuters

Pep Guardiola relieves himself before kick-off at Villa Park. Photo: Lee Smith/Action Images/Reuters

Unai Emery: “It’s a very good test”

“It’s a very tough and very exciting game,” said Villa’s manager. “Playing against Manchester City at home is a big motivation for us. It’s a very good test.

“They have been the best team in the Premier League for the last few years and now perhaps due to various circumstances they are no longer consistent. But they are the best and the coach is the best.

“It’s difficult to be as consistent as she is. They have been successful in recent years and consistent in everything. You have time to emerge victorious in this competition again.”

Pep Guardiola: “I’m fine”

“I handle the good moments – I handle the bad moments well,” the Manchester City manager said in his pre-match press conference. “I had bad times in my managerial career but we were able to come back and now it’s taking longer.

“That gives me experience. I had 40 days of bad days in terms of results. That’s the truth if you compare it to eight years, which is much better. It’s been eight years of incredible (results) and now we have 40-45 days of (poor results).

“I’m fine. I’m a normal person with feelings like all of us. When a situation is going well, we are better, and when things aren’t going well professionally, we concentrate more on what we have to do.”

A pair of Villa fans get into the festive spirit. Photo: Mike Egerton/PA

These teams: Along with Leon Bailey and Tyrone Mings, Ollie Watkins will have to make do with a place on the Villa bench, with Jhon Duran starting ahead of him. Amadou Onana starts in midfield, Diego Carlos is out.

Pep Guardiola makes six changes from the side that started against Manchester United last weekend, with Kyle Walker and Kevin de Bruyne among the notable absentees.

Ederson failed a fitness test and will be replaced by Stefan Ortega, while Jack Grealish makes a rare start for the champions against his former club.

Jhon Duran is hoping to do some celebratory knee bends at Villa Park this afternoon. Photo: Anna Gowthorpe/REX/Shutterstock

Lineups between Aston Villa and Manchester City

Aston Villa: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne, Onana, Kamara, McGinn, Tielemans, Rogers, Duran

Substitute: Bogarde, Buendia, Barkley, Watkins, Mings, Maatsen, Nedeljkovic, Bailey, Olsen

Manchester City: Ortega, Lewis, Stones, Akanji, Gvardiol, Kovacic, Gündogan, Bernardo Silva, Foden, Grealish, Haaland

Subs: Carson, Walker, Ake, Doku, De Bruyne, Savinho, Simpson-Pusey, O’Reilly, McAtee

Today’s match officials

Referee: Peter Bankes.
Assistants: Eddie Smart and Nick Greenhalgh.
Fourth official: Andy Madley.
VAR: Darren England.
Assistant VAR: Darren Cann.

Peter Bankes leads today’s team of match officials at Villa Park. Photo: Julian Finney/Getty Images

Early team news

The big news from the City camp is that Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake join long-term absentees Oscar Bobb and Rodri on the sidelines, but Pep Guardiola has John Stones and Mateo Kovacic, both of whom are considered fit and available for selection. Rico Lewis is also back after his suspension, but Ederson’s participation is questionable.

Villa striker Ollie Watkins has recovered from injury but will have to make do with a place on the bench if the in-form Jhon Duran gets the nod from Unai Emery ahead of him. Leon Bailey is back after a short injury layoff, but Jacob Ramsey remains out.

John Stones is available again after almost a month out due to injury. Photo: Peter Powell/EPA

Premier League: Aston Villa vs Man City

Well, now. With the team’s confidence at an all-time low after just one win in their last 11 (eleven!) games in all competitions, Manchester City travel to Villa Park hoping to revive their flagging title hopes with a much-needed win.

It’s a game few expect them to win given their current miserable form, but their hosts are unlikely to take today’s task lightly, having pulled themselves out of a bit of a slump themselves before winning thanks to two later, ludicrous hits to the canvas from Nikola Milenkovic and Anthony scored Elanga in their game against Nottingham Forest last weekend. Kick-off at Villa Park is at 12:30pm (GMT), but in the meantime stay tuned for updates and team build-up.

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