Manchester Metropolis and Aston Villa go head-to-head on the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday evening because the race for Champions League qualification reaches fever pitch.
Simply three factors separate Nottingham Forest in third – Nuno Espirito Santo’s aspect climbed up 4 locations after beating Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 on Monday evening – and Villa in seventh, with Newcastle United, Metropolis and Chelsea sandwiched within the center. 5 seats at European soccer’s prime desk are up for grabs this season, quite than the standard 4, due to the robust performances of English golf equipment in European competitors.
Metropolis have picked up three wins of their final 4 and arrive again on residence turf after a late overcome Everton. Academy graduate Nico O’Reilly was the hero for Pep Guardiola’s aspect, ghosting into the penalty space to stab residence and break the resistance of the Toffees’ stoic backline.
Villa’s confidence can also be excessive after a harmful 4-1 win over Newcastle, simply days after they have been narrowly eradicated from the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain after taking the Ligue 1 giants to the wire.
Here is 90min’s preview of what ought to be a cracking recreation.
Man Metropolis vs Aston Villa head-to-head report (final 5 video games)
Present type (all competitions)
|
Man Metropolis |
Aston Villa |
|---|---|
|
Everton 0-2 Man Metropolis – 19/04/25 |
Aston Villa 4-1 Newcastle – 19/04/25 |
|
Man Metropolis 5-2 Crystal Palace – 12/04/25 |
Aston Villa 3-2 PSG – 15/04/25 |
|
Man Utd 0-0 Man Metropolis – 06/04/25 |
Southampton 0-3 Aston Villa – 12/04/25 |
|
Man Metropolis 2-0 Leicester – 02/04/25 |
PSG 3-1 Aston Villa – 09/04/25 |
|
Bournemouth 1-2 Man Metropolis – 30/03/25 |
Aston Villa 2-1 Nottingham Forest – 05/04/25 |
|
Nation |
TV channel/reside stream |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
Sky Sports activities Foremost Occasion, Sky Sports activities Premier League, NOW TV, Sky GO |
|
United States |
fuboTV, nbcsports.com, NBC Sports activities App, UNIVERSO NOW, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, USA Community, UNIVERSO |
|
Canada |
fuboTV Canada |
Manchester Metropolis’s Erling Haaland aim provide has been lower off for the final 5 video games, but his absence with an ankle harm hasn’t perturbed the soon-to-be former Premier League champions.
The Norwegian will probably be lacking as soon as extra, leaving Omar Marmoush to steer the road, whereas Metropolis are additionally with out goalkeeper Ederson, John Stones and Nathan Ake. The sport will even come too quickly for Rodri, who is constant to work in the direction of a comeback and hopes to function earlier than the tip of the season.
Rotation may see Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne drop to the bench, although it is at all times anyone’s guess what choice Guardiola will plump for come kick-off. Certainly, the Belgian could possibly be requested to dictate the tempo from the beginning with Phil Foden going by a sticky patch.
Man Metropolis predicted lineup vs Aston Villa (4-2-3-1): Ortega; Nunes, Khusanov, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Gonzalez, Kovacic; Savinho, De Bruyne, Doku; Marmoush.
“He is the supervisor, you must respect his choice, [but] I’m not one in all these gamers glad to sit down on the bench,” have been the phrases of Ollie Watkins after he was restored to Villa’s beginning lineup for the 4-1 win over Newcastle – a recreation that he took simply 33 seconds to attain in.
Unai Emery stated it was “unbelievable” that Watkins channeled his anger into an distinctive show, however he now has the tough choice or whether or not or to not hold religion with the 29-year-old or restore Marcus Rashford to the aspect – he was equally as spectacular within the 3-2 second leg win over PSG.
The latter could get the nod, a lot to Watkins’ chagrin, whereas Marco Asensio may additionally drop to the bench as Emery opts to bolster his midfield. Amadou Onana, who scored towards Newcastle after approaching as a second-half substitute, is a contender to start out and Pau Torres may return in central defence on the expense of Tyrone Mings.
Aston Villa predicted lineup vs Man Metropolis (4-4-1-1): Martinez; Money, Konsa, Torres, Digne; Kamara, Onana, Tielemans, McGinn; Rogers, Rashford.
The video games proceed to return thick and quick for either side, who’re taking part in in midweek due to their involvement within the upcoming FA Cup semi-finals.
Metropolis have the higher hand over Villa on their very own patch however have struggled towards them on their travels to the Midlands. They’re additionally not as rock strong this season, evidenced by their latest conflict with Crystal Palace by which they slipped 2-0 behind earlier than roaring again to win 5-2.
Villa will fancy their possibilities of scoring at the very least one, however Metropolis are historically a unique animal heading into the ultimate stretch of the season. They know learn how to get it executed when it actually issues, even with Haaland absent and De Bruyne’s type hit or miss, and will come out on prime of a midweek thriller.
