Man City vs. Aston Villa lineups, expected starting 11, confirmed team news, injuries: Haaland still out for top-five decider

An enormously important game in the race for Champions League qualification will be in the spotlight as Manchester City host Aston Villa on Tuesday in Premier League action.

Both clubs are in the thick of the race for a valuable top-five place, which comes with a lucrative place in Europe's top competition.

Man City currently sit fourth, now just a single point above Chelsea after the Blues secured a late comeback at Fulham on Sunday, while Aston Villa are in seventh, level on points with Chelsea and Nottingham Forest. The thin margins mean any potential winner from this contest will find themselves in command of the dramatic race with just four matches remaining.

Incredibly, while seemingly every other clubs works around a litany of injuries, Aston Villa have a fully fit squad at Unai Emery's disposal, meaning the experienced manager can formulate the perfect plan to navigate the 90 minutes. Pep Guardiola can hardly say the same, as he is without a number of players, including the prolific Erling Haaland and his goalkeeper Ederson.

The Sporting News runs through the latest team news and injury updates for both sides as the match draws nearer.

Man City vs. Aston Villa lineups, predicted starting 11, team news

Pep Guardiola has tried this season to stick behind struggling Man City legends Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan, and it finally paid off against Everton as both played well in last weekend's 2-0 win.

Crucially, Manuel Akanji returned from his lengthy injury absence in that game, and could be ready to start at some point in the near future, although he may need a few more cameos off the bench before he regains full 90-minute fitness.

Still sidelined are fellow defenders Nathan Ake and John Stones, while Ederson and Erling Haaland continue to recover from injuries which are likely to keep them out for the next few weeks, although Ederson is probably closer to returning than City's prolific goal scorer.

After playing 88 minutes on Saturday, 33-year-old Kevin de Bruyne may need rest on a quick turnaround and could be replaced by Phil Foden.

Man City predicted XI (4-2-3-1, right to left): Ortega (GK) — Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O'Reilly — N. Gonzalez, Gundogan — Silva, Foden, Savinho — Marmoush.

Injured: Ederson (groin), Haaland (ankle), Ake (muscle), Stones (thigh), Rodri (ACL).
Suspended: None.

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Aston Villa have a squad at full, 100% fitness for Unai Emery to pick from. For a club that made a Champions League quarterfinal run to have such a bill of health at this point in the season is truly remarkable.

That means Emery has a number of options to choose from at multiple positions. The most notable decision to make is whether to keep Marcus Rashford, Donyell Malen, and Jacob Ramsey on the bench, or rotate some of them in to replace Morgan Rogers or Marco Asensio. All five players are in good attacking form, including Malen who has scored three Premier League goals in April despite mostly being used as a late substitute.

Emery also has choices in midfield, where there are only usually two spots available for the trio of Youri Tielemans, Boubacar Kamara, and Amadou Onana. The same is true at the back, where Lucas Digne should come back into the side for Ian Maatsen, Andres Garcia has impressed at right-back rotating with Matty Cash, and Axel Disasi has rotated in occasionally for regular centre-back starters Ezri Konsa and Tyrone Mings.

Aston Villa predicted XI (4-2-3-1, right to left): E. Martinez (GK) — A. Garcia, Konsa, Mings, Digne — Onana, Tielemans — Rogers, Asensio, McGinn — Watkins.

Injured: None.
Suspended: None.

Man City vs. Aston Villa live stream, TV channel

Here's how to watch this Premier League match across selected areas of the world's major regions: