Manchester City face Aston Villa in the Premier League tonight, with both sides looking to land a potentially vital blow in the race for Champions League qualification.
City start the week in the qualification spots after last weekend’s 2-0 win over Everton, though they are only a point ahead of seventh-placed Villa with five games left to play.
While Pep Guardiola’s side have favourable fixtures as they look to book a place in the top five, a win tonight could be key against an in-form Villa side.
And Unai Emery’s team – who face a more difficult path to make it back to Europe’s top cup competition – will be buoyed by recent performances as they look to leapfrog City for now.
Follow all the latest build-up, team news and updates from the Etihad below:
Watkins on the bench
Ollie Watkins scored his 74th Premier League goal for Aston Villa on Saturday, equalling the club record set by Gabby Agbonlahor.
Watkins is the first Villa player to score 15 goals or more in three consecutive Premier League seasons.
He starts on the bench tonight.
Man City vs Aston Villa
Manchester City have won their last 14 Premier League home games against Aston Villa, scoring at least twice in each of the most recent 13. Their last home defeat in this fixture came on 28 April 2007.
City have trailed in just two of those 14 matches, going 1-0 down in May 2010 and 2-0 down in May 2022 before winning 3-1 and 3-2 respectively.
However, Aston Villa won this season’s reverse fixture in December and are looking to complete their first league double over City since 1962-63.
One more match to come between this pair?
This may not be the final match between these two sides this season, remember.
This weekend, both will travel to the capital to contest their respective FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley.
Villa face Crystal Palace on Saturday 26 April, while City take on Nottingham Forest the next day.
Could these two sides be set for a Wembley showpiece in May too then?
Pep Guardiola laments letting ‘exceptional’ Morgan Rogers leave Manchester City
Rogers struck for Aston Villa when they beat his former club in December but was never given a first-team appearance by Guardiola as he was loaned out to Lincoln, Bournemouth and Blackpool before being sold to Middlesbrough.
Head-to-head
These two sides have met a total of 165 times in the past, with City winning 75, Villa winning 51 and 40 ending as draws.
Earlier this season, Villa ran out 2-1 winners in the reverse fixture at Villa Park.
Match facts
City are on a run of nine successive home league victories in the month of April, scoring 35 goals and conceding eight.
Villa have won five consecutive Premier League fixtures for the first time since April 2023. They have never won six in a row in the competition.
Pep Guardiola fears targets will go elsewhere if Man City miss Champions League
After winning the last four Premier League titles during an unprecedented spell of domestic dominance, the goal this term is to earn a place back at European football’s top table.
City sit fifth having recovered from an awful end to 2024, but they have work to do in the fight for a Champions League spot that may have a bearing on who they can attract this summer.
‘Beating City would be a statement win for Villa’
“The best team in the country over the previous four years against the best in the last few weeks? Possibly.
“Aston Villa have 10 wins in 11 and have been superb for much of that time. But even in the context of victories over Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle, beating City would be a statement win for Villa.
“Unai Emery tends to rotate and has benched Ollie Watkins, after his superb display on Saturday, and the captain John McGinn.
“Guardiola has surprised by recalling James McAtee for what must be the biggest game of his career.”
Match facts
Pep Guardiola’s side are unbeaten in five Premier League fixtures, winning three and drawing two.
Unai Emery’s side have won 10 of their past 11 matches in all competitions, with the exception being a defeat away to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.
Nottingham Forest, Newcastle, Man City, Chelsea and Aston Villa: Who has the best run-in?
With just five matches remaining of the Premier League season, only three points separate third and seventh in the race for Champions Leaguequalification.
But with several of the sides in third to seventh still set to play each other as well as the champions-elect and relegated sides, which teams are best placed to finish in the top five come the end of May?