Premier League team news and prediction: Man City vs Aston Villa

Aston Villa hope they are now coming through the other side after being hit with an outbreak of COVID-19 earlier this month as they bid to take on Manchester City in their first match in nearly two weeks.

Dean Smith's side have remarkably played four fewer matches than some teams in the Premier League this season as a result and now have an intense schedule to cope with.

First up is a tough game with City, who can go top of the Premier League, albeit potentially only for a few hours, with three points.

When is kick off?
Wednesday 20th January, 18:00
Where is the match?
Etihad, Manchester
Where can I watch it?
BT Sport 1

Form Guide

Still finding their best form in attack, Manchester City have certainly clicked at the back in recent months and are flying towards top spot in the Premier League. Across their last 15 matches in all competitions, City have conceded only three goals and kept 12 clean sheets. In the Premier League their active streak of five straight wins is the best.  

There isn't much form for Aston Villa to speak of, given they've not played since early January. Even in their last match they were forced to play a group of teenagers due to their entire first-team squad being placed in quarantine. They are winless in their last two Premier League matches and have failed to score in four of their last five trips to the Etihad.

Team News

Defensive trio Nathan Ake, Aymeric Laporte and Eric Garcia are still expected to sit out in midweek, while Pep Guardiola has also confirmed Sergio Aguero is still not ready for first-team action. Phil Foden will hope to return to the starting XI on Wednesday and could even be asked to play centrally if Gabriel Jesus drops out.

Aston Villa have remained tight-lipped on their team news so it's hard to know who exactly will be available to take on Manchester City having spent nearly two weeks in quarantine. Ross Barkley could make his first appearance since November after overcoming injury.

Probable XIs:

Man City (433): Ederson; Walker, Stones, Dias, Cancelo; De Bruyne, Rodri, Gundogan; Mahrez, Foden, Sterling

Aston Villa (4231): Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Targett; Luiz, McGinn; Ghazi, Barkley, Grealish; Watkins

Key Battle: Kevin De Bruyne vs Jack Grealish

Football fans are in for a treat on Wednesday as they will get to see arguably the two best players in the Premier League in Kevin De Bruyne and Jack Grealish go head-to-head. Both have enjoyed superb campaigns to date. 

De Bruyne has already reached double figures for assists in the Premier League, reaching the milestone for the fourth time in the last five seasons. Impressively, however, Grealish is actually averaging more key passes per 90 (3.7) than De Bruyne (3.4) this season.

Grealish has really kicked on this season after helping keep his boyhood club in England's top-flight on the final day of last season. The 25-year-old has played a direct hand in 12 goals in 15 league appearances and is the second highest WhoScored rated player in the division (7.92).

Pep Guardiola is said to be a huge admirer of Grealish and will get to see the England international at his best up close this evening. With a £200m spending spree tipped at the end of the season, tonight could even be an early audition for Grealish to play at the Etihad on a regular basis.

Scoreline Prediction: Man City 2-0 Aston Villa