Manchester City Looks to Break Villa Park Curse Against Aston Villa

BIRMINGHAM, England — Manchester City aims to end their recent struggles at Villa Park when they take on Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday. The Cityzens have lost their last three visits to this venue, facing defeats at the hands of Unai Emery‘s team in the last two seasons. However, City enters this match in strong form, having won seven of their last nine games across all competitions, and now sits just three points behind league leaders.

In their latest outing, City comfortably defeated Villarreal with first-half goals from Erling Haaland and Bernardo Silva. Haaland has been in exceptional form this season, scoring a total of 24 goals for club and country, hitting the net in all but one match. This presents a significant challenge for Villa, who aim to contain the Norwegian striker after suffering a surprising defeat to Go Ahead Eagles in their Europa League match last Thursday.

Aston Villa is missing key midfielder Youri Tielemans, who is out until after the November international break due to a calf injury. Coach Unai Emery may keep a similar lineup to the one that defeated Spurs last week but faces decisions on player positions following the Europa League loss.

On the other hand, Manchester City will be without Rodri and Abdukodir Khusanov for the trip to Villa Park. Pep Guardiola confirmed that Rodri has been sidelined since the October international break, while Khusanov continues to struggle with an ankle injury. Guardiola will assess Nico González‘s fitness following a foot injury sustained in the midweek clash against Villarreal.

An exciting matchup looms as Villa looks to capitalize on their recent home success against City, having won their last two encounters at Villa Park. Meanwhile, City, known for their formidable attacking threats, will seek to secure a much-needed victory. Both teams are in good form, and the atmosphere at Villa Park is expected to be electric.

Kick-off is scheduled for 14:00 BST on Sunday, with both sides eager to maintain their positive trajectories in the league.