Manchester City v Aston Villa - Premier League - Wednesday 20th January2021 KO 18:00 GMT -Premier League Match Preview and MDT | Vital Football

Manchester City v Aston Villa - Premier League - Wednesday 20th January2021 KO 18:00 GMT -Premier League Match Preview and MDT

Buzz Lightyear

Buzz Lightyear

Alert Team
Did I Ever Tell You the Tale of the Tortoise and the Hare- Aesop!
Aston Villa can be red hot on their day, as way back in October they gave Liverpool™failed a damned good thrashing 7-2, however later in the same month they were thrashed themselves at Villa Park by newcomers Leeds three goals to nil, so football is a funny game.
Pep asked about the unbeaten run retorted that all his thoughts are on the next game. I agree with the great man, one game at a time.
We have most of the squad fit and on occasion, Pep has had the luxury of being able to give the players a respite and I think Nedum Onuoha mentioned that on Manchester City's show 'We're Not Really Here' that when we rotate, we swap players of equal ability without reducing the quality of the team.
What is noticeable is that the whole team are just that and not a side of individuals, Yes KDB puts the ball into areas with deadly accuracy, but you do need a team mate to be at the other end to put it in the back of the net.
So on Wednesday City need to maintain a high degree of concentration and try and get all three points to take onto the coach and bring them back home to Manchester.

WE'RE NOT REALLY HERE (#WNRH) City+ mancity.com
Joleon Lescott and Richard Dunne will appear on our We're Not Really Here matchday show.

City Teams News
PEP PREVIEW
“Sergio is not ready for tomorrow. He is still isolating. I don’t know (for how long.)

“Aymeric is at the last step. He is not ready for tomorrow, but he is training with us.

“Yesterday was the first one, today was the second.

"Hopefully (he will be available for the weekend). That would be good news. We need him. We cannot play with just Stones and Ruben. We need Nathan, Eric. We need Laporte.

“The only concern is Aston Villa right now. We don’t know who will be available, right now, we will see tomorrow in the line-up. The performance is the only concerns.

“In this league, you can win five games in a row and then lose three in a row. The most important thing is Aston Villa."

see more ....City v Aston Villa: Kick-off time, TV and team news (mancity.com)
Beat the Pep
Ederson
Walker, Stones, Dias, Zinchenko
Gundogan, Rodri, Mahrez, KDB, Sterling, Torres

Match Officials
Referee: Jonathan Moss.
Assistants: Harry Lennard, Dan Robathan.
Fourth official: David Coote.
VAR: Andy Madley.
Assistant VAR: Simon Beck.

Is it on the Box?
UK BTsport (UK )(subscription)
Ireland BBC Radio 5 Live, BT Sport Extra, BT Sport 1, BT Sport App, BTSport.com
Australia Optus Sport
Spain DAZN
United States Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, NBC Sports App, SiriusXM FC, UNIVERSO NOW, UNIVERSO, NBCSN, NBCSports.com

Next
BBC 1
FA Cup 4th Round Saturday 23rd January 2021 17:30 GMT
Cheltenham Town v Manchester City
 
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The key is to stop Flash Jack, Stones and probably Walker as RB will get that job. Their tallisman is playing well. Will Red Kev be up for this game after coming off vs Palace, maybe not I think, we shall soon see. I would pick Phil in front of Rodney.
 
johnkelv said:
The key is to stop Flash Jack, Stones and probably Walker as RB will get that job. Their tallisman is playing well. Will Red Kev be up for this game after coming off vs Palace, maybe not I think, we shall soon see. I would pick Phil in front of Rodney.
Click to expand...
The Phil for The Invisible Man is a good call. This is a game for players who will work hard for the team rather than themselves.
 
It's been a filthy last 48 hours or so, with constant rain in the Manchester area, with, I think, flood warnings in place. It'll certainly be heavy conditions tonight.
 
Colin Is The King said:
It's been a filthy last 48 hours or so, with constant rain in the Manchester area, with, I think, flood warnings in place. It'll certainly be heavy conditions tonight.
Click to expand...

I used to love it when the pitches did not drain as well as they do now because we always played well on a sticky wicket. Especially Mick Doyle.
 
CITY XI: Ederson, Walker, Dias, Stones, Cancelo, Rodrigo, Gundogan, De Bruyne (c), Bernardo, Foden, Sterling

Subs: Steffen, Zinchenko, Garcia, Mendy, Bernabe, Mahrez, Fernandinho, Torres, Jesus
 
Manager Pep Guardiola makes three changes from the side that beat Palace 4-0 on Sunday.

Joao Cancelo, Rodrigo and Phil Foden come into the starting eleven with Oleks Zinchenko, Fernandinho and Gabriel Jesus reverting to the bench.
 
'City's smooth machine'
Richard Dunne:

"I'm not surprised (at the clean sheets) because the players are more than capable but really impressed with how they’ve done it.

"The one constant all season has been how strong defensively we’ve been all season.

"It just looks impenetrable at the moment, you can't get near it and how Stones and Dias control it and pass the ball, it looks like a smooth machine."
 
The Villa fans fancy a result as their team is pretty much full-strength despite all the ‘woe is me‘ from Smith in the run-up.
 
'De Bryne is ridiculous'
Joloen Lescott on KDB

"It’s not a form thing, this is what he does, this is how he plays, there are no surprises and that’s the biggest compliment you can pay a player like that.

"It’s just the norm, it surprises you when he DOESN’T get goals and assists.

"In regards to his contribution, it’s ridiculous. We see players play a game like De Bruyne once or twice a month but not every week against every opposition.

"He does it against everyone, and everyone is liable to getting on the end of a KDB cross or assist."
 
Joleon Lescott:

"Ruben Dias has only been here a short amount of time but he looks like he could play with anybody. He looks like he just wants to keep a clean sheet.

"Everyone’s recognised Dias is going to play and he will make his partners better. The trust is massive.

"John Stones can now fully commit to his game knowing Dias is going to be there. And if he doesn’t win a tackle or header Dias will clean it up."
 
Oleksandr Zinchenko

"It is a great opportunity for us, to win and be back on the top of the league.

“It will give us more confidence I would say.

“It is a really nice feeling to be at the top of the table and everyone misses this. That is what we need and that is what we want.”
 
'Europe's best midfielder'
Richard Dunne on Kevin De Bruyne

"You look throughout world football and nobody can do what he’s doing at the moment. I think he's the best midfielder in European football at the moment.

"There’s comparisons with Bruno Fernandes at Man United and you look at his stats and goals. If he doesn't do that you maybe don’t know if he's playing or not.

"With De Bruyne, if he doesn't assist or score you still know he’s been in the game, he’s always working hard, linking the ball quickly. He’s the all round midfielder - he’s not afraid to run back and tackle."
 
Richard Dunne on Bernardo:

"When he plays he brings a different energy to the team. He’s busy, he’s getting around everywhere, he’s brilliant on the ball.

"He can play out wide, he can come in the middle, he’s got different attributes.

"When Mahrez plays who’s very skillful but left footed, Bernardo can just move, come of the line and drift in behind people.

"For the opposition, he’s difficult to mark. Him and De Bruyne really link up well together."
 
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