Predicted Aston Villa XI vs Man City: Smith to make one change, 25-yr-old to start – originally posted on Sportslens.com
Aston Villa host Manchester City in the Premier League later tonight and they will be hoping to bounce back from their defeat against Liverpool last time out.
Dean Smith’s side have failed to win five of their last six Premier League matches and they will be under pressure to win here.
That said, Manchester City are an exceptional side and they will be firm favourites to secure all three points.
Furthermore, Pep Guardiola will demand a strong reaction from his players after the 2-1 defeat against Leeds United in their last outing.
The visitors have an excellent head to head record against Villa and they have managed to beat the West Midlands club in their last six meetings.
The home side will be without the services of Trezeguet, Jack Grealish and Morgan Sanson due to injuries. Brazilian striker Wesley Moraes is still working on his match fitness and he is unlikely to feature here.
This will be a tough challenge for Villa especially with the creativity of Grealish and Sanson. Furthermore, Trezeguet seemed in good form lately and he will be missed as well.
One positive for Villa will be the fact that Kevin De Bruyne is ruled out for Manchester City with an injury and Sergio Aguero is sidelined as well.
Predicted Aston Villa starting line-up: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Mings, Targett, Nakamba, Luiz, Traore, McGinn, El Ghazi, Watkins
Smith is likely to make one change to the side that was defeated by Liverpool. 25-year-old El Ghazi is likely to replace the injured Egyptian attacker Trezeguet in the starting line-up.