Aston Villa face Manchester City in the Premier League on Tuesday night, and Unai Emery has provided our latest team news ahead of the key encounter.
Villa made it five consecutive league wins after seeing off Newcastle Utd this past weekend, but with a gap to close still in the race for Champions League qualification, we’ll need another big performance in midweek at the Etihad, against another direct rival.
READ MORE: How Villa could line up vs Man City: Four potential key Emery changes
City have had their struggles this season having fallen well off the pace for the title, but Pep Guardiola’s side are starting to find some form at a key point in the campaign as they share a common objective of trying to secure a top-five finish.
In turn, it promises to be a difficult encounter for Villa as we look to keep our momentum and winning form going, but Emery will be delighted that he has no fresh injury concerns ahead of the clash in Manchester, as he confirmed that he’ll have the full squad available at his disposal once again in a major boost.
“We can’t stop,” he told the media, as per VillaTV. “We’re involved in our key moment in the season. Through the Premier League, we are trying to get our first objective in 38 matches.
“Tomorrow is day 34 against Manchester City, one of the teams contending to be in the top four or top five. They want to win the title, but this year has been more difficult for them.
“My respect for them is massive, as always. We are ready. Every player and every worker here in Aston Villa is so, so focused in the moment we’re in.
“Tomorrow we will prepare the match as well as possible, and the players will all be available for tomorrow.”
We’ve seen in recent weeks and months how effective the Villa boss has been when he has depth, competition for places and different tactical solutions, as his ability to rotate coupled with his man-management skills are getting the best out of players who are all contributing.
Given the task at hand this week though which comes ahead of our FA Cup semi-final tie against Crystal Palace on Saturday, we’ll need a huge effort collectively once again to get the desired outcome, and that means not only getting it right with the starting line-up, but also continuing to get a positive impact from those coming off the bench.
It will be fascinating to see what Villa XI it is that Emery goes with against City, as although changes are expected, this will be such a difficult task of finding the right balance and putting ourselves in a position to get a crucial result.
