Manchester City will clash heads with Aston Villa at Villa Park this Saturday as they look to secure a good result on the road in the Premier League. The Mancunian club managed to earn a dominant 5-1 win over AEK Athens recently, which should give them a ton of confidence going into this game.
Enzo Maresca will set his men up in a 4-2-3-1 formation and is expected to make a few tweaks to his first XI for this clash. Hence, Erling Haaland will once again get the nod to lead the line for Man City up top.
4-2-3-1 Manchester City Predicted Lineup To Face Aston Villa
Defence
Gianluigi Donnarumma will function in between the sticks for the visitors after conceding one goal in his last appearance. Ruben Dias will operate alongside Marc Guehi at the centre of the Man City backline as they look to keep a good shape when defending inside his half.
Both Matheus Nunes and Nico O’Reilly are major doubts for this game, but could operate as Maresca’s full-backs if they can pass a late fitness test this weekend.
Abdukodir Khusanov and Josko Gvardiol will offer cover for them on the bench.
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 20: Enzo Maresca, Manager of Manchester City, reacts during the UEFA Champions League 2026/27 League Phase MD3 match between Manchester City and AEK Athens at City of Manchester Stadium on October 20, 2026 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Midfield
Elliot Anderson and Enzo Fernandez will anchor the midfield for the Mancunian club as they look to win the 50-50 battles at the centre of the park and engineer some decent chances in the final third.
The gifted trio of Jeremy Doku, Rayan Cherki and Iliman Ndiaye will play just ahead of them as part of Maresca’s attack. All three of them need to combine well if they want to engineer enough chances for Man City to win this contest at Villa Park this weekend.
Ayyoub Bouaddi and Phil Foden will have to settle for a spot on the bench as they wait for their chance to shine in the second 45 minutes if needed.
Erling Haaland will spearhead Man City’s attack on the offensive end of the field. He would be eager to find the back of the net after getting a rest in midweek.
Allan will make up the numbers on the bench and might come on to influence the game in the final quarter if required.