29 November 2021, 16:45 | 28 August 2021, 15:29
The mid-week Premier League fixture, Aston Villa vs. Manchester City, kicks off at 21:15 (GMT+1) on Wednesday, December 1, at Villa Park.
Preview Aston Villa Premier League, Dec 1, 2021
Preview Steven Gerrard made it a 100%-winning start after two victories in two games at the weekend, following Villa’s 2-1 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday. In the first quarter of an hour, Matt Targett (15') established a Villa lead before Man-of-the-match, John McGinn (86'), doubled the Lions' lead in the final moments. However, Villa were denied a clean sheet as Marc Guehi (90'+5) struck and cut Villa’s lead down to one, setting up a tense moment as the Claret & Blue awaited the final whistle. Both our goals were worked extremely well, Steven Gerrard said right after the game. Our first-half performance was excellent; in a lot of departments, we were top, he added. We knew we'd have to roll our sleeves up and fight after half-time. They made it difficult for us, but we had more chances to go and score more goals, the 41-year-old concluded after the feisty duel at Selhurst Park. With back-to-back victories, LLLWW, Villa moved two spots higher, from 15th to 13th place, having picked up 16 points after 5W, 1D, and 7L. For that game against the Eagles, Gerrard selected the 4—3—3 formation, with the trio consisting of Ashley Young, Ollie Watkins, and Leon Bailey in attack. A similar shape, with a few changes to the personnel, may be seen in the starting lineup for this fixture against the Cityzens.
Preview Manchester City Premier League, Dec 1, 2021
Preview Second-placed Manchester City picked up a 2-1 win over West Ham United at the weekend and now trail first-placed Chelsea by just a point. In the snowstorm, Man-of-the-match, İlkay Gündoğan (33') had City in front, three minutes past the half-hour mark. The Cityzens held on to the narrow lead until the second-half substitute, Fernandinho (90'), doubled the lead. However, Manuel Lanzini (90'+4) struck in stoppage time to deny City the clean sheet. The number of chances we created, especially in the first half, in the conditions that both teams played in, was a huge victory for us, Pep Guardiola said after the game. We didn't concede much. We defended the set-pieces really well and the counter-attacks we controlled, he added. I think the groundkeepers, the men who took care of the pitch, were the men of the match. They did an incredible job so we could play the game today. Pep concluded. City has 29 points from 9W, 2D, and 2L and are unbeaten in three games: WLWWW, ahead of this fixture against Aston Villa. A resurgent Raheem Sterling could keep his place in the starting line-up in Pep’s 4—3—3 formation, which could see a few changes in the attacking end. Manchester City have no new injury worries.