After regaining some semblance of form in last week’s 2-0 win over West Ham, City host a second consecutive home game on Saturday evening, with Aston Villa the Premier League visitors, fresh off of the back of an FA Cup semi-final win last weekend. However, City now need a win against The Villans for competitive requirements of their own – Champions League qualification.
City haven’t hosted Villa at Eastlands for almost a year, with last season’s fixture against the Birmingham-based side also coming in the run-in at the end of the campaign; although, last year there were much higher hopes of success going into the start of the game. The match came two days after Liverpool’s 3-3 draw with Crystal Palace, and City were able to take advantage of that to beat Villa 4-0 and move in as heavy favourites for the title. 4 days later, they lifted the trophy after that game against West Ham.
This season’s previous game against Villa wasn’t quite so easy, with it taking 82 minutes for The Blues to open the score thanks to a fine finish from Yaya Toure from outside the box. Minutes later, Sergio Aguero doubled the lead with another fantastic goal and City were able to hold on for the 2-0 win, despite the victory perhaps not being deserved – not that we’re complaining.
In terms of injuries, the situation has massively changed for City in recent weeks. Not that long ago, we didn’t have anyone on the injury table, yet now the list is fairly extensive. Happily, Silva is fit to play despite being stretchered off with the aid of oxygen last weekend, and Wilfried Bony is also available again after recovering from an ankle injury. James Milner is also a possibility with him no longer suffering from a knee injury. However, Samir Nasri and Gael Clichy (muscle injuries), Vincent Kompany (thigh) and Stevan Jovetic (muscle) are all absent for the visit of Tim Sherwood’s team.
Interestingly, the visitors also have injury problems to contend with. Nathan Baker and Ciaran Clark are both out with knee injuries, Alan Hutton is out with an ankle injury, Chris Herd is out with a knee ligament injury and Libor Kozak is still absent with a broken leg which has kept him out since January 2014. However, Gabby Abonglahor will have a late fitness test to see if he’s fit to play after a hamstring ailment, while Aly Cissokho and Philippe Senderos are back from groin and calf injuries respectively.
This game is a big one for both teams, understandably. Despite good results under Tim Sherwood, Aston Villa still only lie 15th in the table, just four points clear of the relegation zone. For that reason, they’re likely to come out fighting on Saturday evening, with motivation high after reaching the FA Cup Final last weekend.
City also need a win, with The Blues edging closer and closer to ensuring a Champions League play-off spot for next season. A win is also needed in case United slip up at any point in the rest of the season, allowing City to capitalise on their mistake and try and move above them to claim the automatic group stage qualification – a prize that would taste extra-sweet after the difficult campaign we’ve endured in the past 8 months.
