Aston Villa — Manchester City: preview
We have the information on the lineups for the Aston Villa and Manchester City match in the context of the eighth round of the 2026/27 Premier League. The unbeaten Manchester City will try, for the first time in the last five years, to beat Aston Villa at their own stadium.
Key points
Aston Villa
1. Five wins in six games — Aston Villa in excellent form
Last Wednesday, Aston Villa hosted Norwegian champions Viking and secured their third consecutive win in the Champions League. However, in the Premier League the Unai Emery squad has recorded only two victories in seven fixtures, although a significant improvement is evident: in the last three league matches Aston Villa has earned seven of nine possible points. Including the League Cup match against Coventry, the Birminghams maintain a six‑match unbeaten run, of which five were wins.
2. Squad problem on the left‑back side of the defence
Three players who covered that position — Yéin Matis, Matteo Rüdiger and Aaron Van Bissac — have been injured consecutively. Matis is already close to returning and was named in the squad for the Viking match, but Unai Emery still uses Tyron Mings in that area, and in central defence Pedro Torres has recently returned from injury. In the match against Manchester City, the three experienced centre‑backs will defend with great utility. Aston Villa’s key player, João Moutinho, who missed the Viking game due to a minor injury, scored three goals and provided three assists in his six matches for the club and is expected to recover for the clash with Manchester City.
3. Aston Villa has won three consecutive home matches against Manchester City
Since Unai Emery took charge in 2022, the Spanish coach has faced Pep Guardiola seven times, with a positive record: four wins and three losses. All three home matches and one away match last season were victories. Now, with a new coach, Manchester City has won the latest series and the history of the encounters begins a new chapter.
Manchester City
1. The “Citizens” keep winning
Last Tuesday, Manchester City crushed AEK Athens (5–1) in the Champions League without major issues. That win was the tenth in 12 matches of the current season. Losses were limited to the last Champions League finalist, the English Super Cup against Arsenal (0–3) and the European match against PSG (2–4). In the Premier League, the “Citizens” have won all seven fixtures, and in the last three games the Enzo Mareschi side has scored at least three times. The last team affected by Manchester City in the previous round was Ipswich, who lost 3–2.
2. Semenko left due to injury, Holan in form
In the AEK match, Enzo Mareschi made a massive rotation, changing eight midfielders from the Ipswich game. The full‑backs Nico O’Reilly and Matheus Luis, midfielder Mateo Kovacic and winger Antoine Semenko were left out of the squad due to injuries. However, only Semenko is considered a total loss, while the rest of the injured players could recover for the match against Aston Villa. Erling Haaland, who left the field after the Ipswich game, avoided a serious injury and is ready to continue his eight‑match goal‑scoring streak across all competitions.
3. Manchester City scores a lot. This allows them to worry less about the safety of their goalkeepers
Manchester City has scored at least twice in six consecutive matches. The “Mark what you can and we’ll do what we want” principle failed in the Champions League match against PSG, which they lost 2–4. In only one of the last five away visits did the “Citizens” keep their goalkeepers intact: at Liverpool, where they didn’t take advantage of many dangerous chances. Additionally, it is worth noting that the last clean sheet for Manchester City in Birmingham was more than ten years ago, when they conceded nine goals in eight away matches against Aston Villa.
Estimated lineups
4‑2‑3‑1
5 Susuki
14 Mings
3 Torres
2 Lindelöf
35 Kaché
35 Gómez
8 Camara
27 Goretzka
10 Buendía
7 Makgill
11 Jackson
1 Donnarumma
82 Luis
6 Gavi
3 Diásh
24 Guardiola
17 Fernandes
5 Anderson
47 Foden
7 Ndíaye
11 Doku
9 Holan
Trending bets
Minimum four goals in five of the last six Aston Villa matches and in five of the last six Manchester City matches. TB(3,5) at 2.27.
Aston Villa has not lost to Manchester City at home in the last four home visits. 1X at 2.26.
Forecast
Aston Villa vs Manchester City 24.10.2026 15:30
Two teams representing England in the Champions League are in excellent form this season. Aston Villa scored 18 goals in the last six matches across all competitions, which allowed them to win five times and draw once. Manchester City in the same period recorded 23 goals, and the “Citizens” winning streak remains almost from the start of the season: 10 wins in 11 matches with a loss to PSG. Erling Haaland scores for Manchester City in eight consecutive matches, and in the European match against AEK, the Premier League top scorer, as well as most of the “Citizens” core squad, rested. At the same time, Aston Villa played against Viking in the Champions one day later and the rotation was notably smaller. So Aston Villa risks losing for the first time in five years against Manchester City with an excellent home record, but the match is expected to be quite bright.
Prediction: 2-3
