The Villains are able to upset Pellegrini.
Last updated: January 28, 2016 by Leon Marshal
Game details
. .
| Kick-off: | Saturday, 3pm |
| Venue: | Villa Park |
| Coverage: | Sky Sports 1, BBC 5 Live |
| Home form: | DWDWD |
| Away form: | DWDWL |
| Last meeting: | 0-0 |
| Competition: | The FA Cup |
The Villains have recently improved a lot. They haven’t recorded a defeat in 5 consecutive competitive matches (2 victories and 3 draws). Even though they are lying bottom in the The Premier League standings, they are 10 points below the safety of the 17th place. In a cup match everything is possible, even if the weakest club is playing against the strongest.
Sergio Aguero is again in top form for Manchester City. The Argentinian forward scored 2 goals against West Ham last weekend and now has 15 goals from all competitions this season. It is obvious that if he is performing well, Manchester City will surely not lose a game.
The last match between these two teams was played on 8th November 2015 and ended with a 0-0 draw at Villa Park. That was the first match for Remi Garde as a manager of Aston Villa. So, the Frenchman knows best how to keep City’s attackers quiet. In addition, Aston Villa have conceded only 2 goals in their last 5 matches, so The Lions have finally started playing well in defence.
Team News
The Scottish international defender Alan Hutton has recently received an injury. He has recorded 17 appearances for The Villains this season.
Carlos Sanchez, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Amavi and Adama Traore are the other injured players in Aston Villa’s squad. Traore will return to the pitch in March.
Aleksandar Kolarov, Mangala and Vincent Kompany are among the injured defenders in Manchester City’s squad. Otamendi is definitely not in form, but he will have to start the match.
Wilfried Bony, Roberts and Samir Nasri for The Citizens are also injured. The Ivorian is suffering from a calf muscle strain, while Nasri has a hamstring problem.
Quotes of the week
Remi Garde (Aston Villa) :
“We are working hard to sign players but in our position in the table it is quite difficult to sign players.”
Manuel Pellegrini (Manchester City) :
“Aguero scored the two goals, he won the penalty, he had another shot that hit the post and he had a final chance which he shot straight at Adrian.”
Expected line-ups:
| . | |
| Aston Villa (4-2-3-1): | Bunn, Bacuna, Okore, Cissokho, Lescott, Gueye, Veretout, Charles Gil, Westwood, Ayew, Kozak. |
| Subs | Grealish, N’Zogbia, Gestede, Clark, Sinclair, Guzan, Richards. |
| Injured: | Amavi, Hutton, Traore, Agbonlahor, Carlos Sanchez. |
| Doubtful: | — |
| Not available: | — |
| . | |
| Manchester City (4-2-3-1): | Hart, Sagna, Zabaleta, Demichelis, Otamendi, Delph, Fernando, Sterling, Silva, De Bruyne, Aguero. |
| Subs | Caballero, Humphreys, Navas, Fernandinho, Clichy, Iheanacho, Toure. |
| Injured: | Kompany, Nasri, Mangala, Bony, Roberts, Kolarov. |
| Doubtful: | — |
| Not available: | — |
Key Battle
 |
Sinclair this season | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Minutes | Goals | Shots per game | Assists | MotM | Yellows | Reds | |
| 14 (2) | 1061 | 2 | 0,8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
 |
Aguero this season | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Minutes | Goals | Shots per game | Assists | MotM | Yellows | Reds | |
| 15 (1) | 1156 | 12 | 3,9 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
Comparison
| . | . | . |
|---|---|---|
| Aston Villa this season | Manchester City this season | |
| Remi Garde | Head coach | Manuel Pellegrini |
| The Premier League | Division | The Premier League |
| 11 | League Position | 9 |
| 2-0 vs. Wycombe (home) | 3rd round result | 3-0 vs. Norwich (away) |
| Winners (7) | Biggest success in The FA Cup | Winners (5) |
| Runners-up | Last campaign in The FA Cup | 4th round |
| Clark, Gueye, Richards (1) | Top scorers in The FA Cup | Aguero, De Bruyne, Iheanacho (1) |
| Gestede, Charles Gil, Westwood (1) | Assist leader in The FA Cup | Navas, Sterling (1) |
- Manchester City won their third round match 3-0 against Norwich at Carrow Road, while Aston Villa had to take part in the replays to eliminate Wycombe.
- The Citizens have recorded only 17 victories in 75 games against Aston Villa at Villa Park. The Lions have won on 34 occasions.
- Aston Villa last won against Manchester City on 28th September 2013. The Villains turned the score in their favour and won 3-2 at home.
- The Villains kept 3 clean sheets in their last 5 matches. In fact, they haven’t conceded a goal in 6 games this season (all competitions).
Head to Head
| Last 5 meetings between the two sides | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Competition | Game Result | First Goal-scorer |
| 08/11/15 | The Premier League | Aston Villa 0-0 Man City | — |
| 25/04/15 | The Premier League | Man City 3-2 Aston Villa | S. Agüero 3′ |
| 04/10/14 | The Premier League | Aston Villa 0-2 Man City | Y. Touré 82′ |
| 07/05/14 | The Premier League | Man City 4-0 Aston Villa | E. Džeko 64′ |
| 28/09/13 | The Premier League | Aston Villa 3-2 Man City | Y. Touré 45′ |