rewrite this title Man City vs Aston Villa: Preview, predictions and lineups

Manchester City and Aston Villa go head-to-head at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night as the race for Champions League qualification reaches fever pitch.

Just three points separate Nottingham Forest in third – Nuno Espirito Santo’s side climbed up four places after beating Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 on Monday night – and Villa in seventh, with Newcastle United, City and Chelsea sandwiched in the middle. Five seats at European football’s top table are up for grabs this season, rather than the traditional four, thanks to the strong performances of English clubs in European competition.

City have picked up three wins in their last four and arrive back on home turf after a late triumph over Everton. Academy graduate Nico O’Reilly was the hero for Pep Guardiola’s side, ghosting into the penalty area to stab home and break the resistance of the Toffees’ stoic backline.

Villa’s confidence is also high after a destructive 4-1 win over Newcastle, just days after they were narrowly eliminated from the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain after taking the Ligue 1 giants to the wire.

Here’s 90min’s preview of what should be a cracking game.

Man City vs Aston Villa head-to-head record (last five games)

Current form (all competitions)

Manchester City’s Erling Haaland goal supply has been cut off for the last five games, yet his absence with an ankle injury hasn’t perturbed the soon-to-be former Premier League champions.

The Norwegian will be missing once more, leaving Omar Marmoush to lead the line, while City are also without goalkeeper Ederson, John Stones and Nathan Ake. The game will also come too soon for Rodri, who is continuing to work towards a comeback and hopes to feature before the end of the season.

Rotation could see Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne drop to the bench, though it’s always anybody’s guess what selection Guardiola will plump for come kick-off. Indeed, the Belgian could be asked to dictate the tempo from the start with Phil Foden going through a sticky patch.

Man City predicted lineup vs Aston Villa (4-2-3-1): Ortega; Nunes, Khusanov, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Gonzalez, Kovacic; Savinho, De Bruyne, Doku; Marmoush.

“He’s the manager, you have to respect his decision, [but] I am not one of these players happy to sit on the bench,” were the words of Ollie Watkins after he was restored to Villa’s starting lineup for the 4-1 win over Newcastle – a game that he took just 33 seconds to score in.

Unai Emery said it was “fantastic” that Watkins channeled his anger into an exceptional display, but he now has the difficult decision or whether or not to keep faith with the 29-year-old or restore Marcus Rashford to the side – he was equally as impressive in the 3-2 second leg win over PSG.

The latter may get the nod, much to Watkins’ chagrin, while Marco Asensio may also drop to the bench as Emery opts to reinforce his midfield. Amadou Onana, who scored against Newcastle after coming on as a second-half substitute, is a contender to start and Pau Torres could return in central defence at the expense of Tyrone Mings.

Aston Villa predicted lineup vs Man City (4-4-1-1): Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne; Kamara, Onana, Tielemans, McGinn; Rogers, Rashford.

The games continue to come thick and fast for both sides, who are playing in midweek because of their involvement in the upcoming FA Cup semi-finals.

City have the upper hand over Villa on their own patch but have struggled against them on their travels to the Midlands. They are also not as rock solid this season, evidenced by their recent clash with Crystal Palace in which they slipped 2-0 behind before roaring back to win 5-2.

Villa will fancy their chances of scoring at least one, but City are traditionally a different animal heading into the final stretch of the season. They know how to get it done when it really matters, even with Haaland absent and De Bruyne’s form hit and miss, and could come out on top of a midweek thriller.

Prediction: Man City 3-2 Aston Villa

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