Aston Villa vs Manchester City LIVE Commentary: Pep Guardiola Suffered New Injury Amid His Worst Form: Predicted Lineups and How to Follow

Manchester City desperately need a win against Aston Villa this Saturday afternoon as they look to end their dismal form.

pep guardiola He is on his worst run as a manager heading into this clash, with his team only winning one of their last 11 in all competitions.

An incredible late defeat against the rivals. manchester united In last week's derby, the reigning champions were nine points behind the Premier League leaders. Liverpool.

And if they lost again at Villa Park, they could be left out of the top six, being overtaken by Unai Emery's team.

Emery will also look to regain his proper form as Villa come into this game after a disappointing defeat to Nottingham Forest.

They have been quite inconsistent in recent weeks and if they want to keep up with the best teams in the league, they will have to bounce back.

Aston Villa vs Man City: fighting harder than ever

If things can get worse for city ​​manthat would be awesome.

They have just been beaten by their bitter rivals and it seems an impossible task to defend their Premier League title again this season.

A win of 11 is not enough and he is in form we haven't seen from the city in a long time.

Guardiola's side have lost five of their last seven league games, the same amount they lost in their previous 67 games.

To make matters worse, they have been losing matches despite taking the lead, being defeated in two of their last three such matches.

That's as many as their previous 102 games in which they took the lead and have not given up a lead to lose three times in a single campaign since 2004.

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• Aston Villa won this exact match 1-0 last season, but have not won consecutive home league games against Man City since April 1993.
• Only against Newcastle have Manchester City won more Premier League games (31) and scored more Premier League goals (102) than against Aston Villa (30 wins, 98 goals).

Aston Villa vs Man City: predicted lineups

Villa have the luxury of having a near-full squad heading into this game, with only Jacob Ramsey out with an injury.

Leon Bailey will return, while Tyrone Mings should return after withdrawing from the team during the warm-up due to illness last time out.

However, it is likely that neither of them will start, in a team that will have Emi Martínez in goal as usual.

In front of Martínez will be Ezri Konsa, Diego Carlos, Pau Torres and Lucas Digne, who started last weekend.

Boubacar Kamara and Youri Tielemans have formed a strong midfield partnership, with John McGinn taking on a wider role.

Morgan Rogers is a safe bet to start and Emery may decide to play with forwards Jhon Durán and Olivia Watkins this time.

He's been rotating the pair more regularly in recent weeks, and with Bailey's fitness issues and Matty Cash looking uncomfortable higher up, this may be a solution.

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As for City, they have received more bad injury news and Ruben Dias will now miss the next month of action.

Goalie ederson is also a doubt and could now join Nathan Ake, Oscar Bobb and Rodri in the treatment room too.

Fortunately, Rico Lewis returns from suspension to provide cover at the back and will feature in a makeshift defense behind Stefan Ortega.

Kyle Walker He will be at right back, while Josko Gvardiol could be joined by Manuel Akanji at centre-back, despite the latter having just returned to training.

Juan Piedras He also returns, but last played in a game in November and could pose a bigger risk after such limited minutes this season.

In midfield, Mateo Kovacic could play Rodri's role again. Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden in front of him.

Bernardo Silva will probably be on the right and Jack Grealish Jeremy Doku and Savinho could be preferred against his former left-wing club.

Of course, Erling Haaland will lead the line to the front.

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• Manchester City's Phil Foden has taken more unmarked shots than any other player in the Premier League this season (24). Meanwhile, his teammate Savinho has amassed the highest xG of any player yet to score (2.1).
• Josko Gvardiol has scored more goals than any other defender in the Premier League this season, while his four goals are the second-most of any Manchester City player this season after Erling Haaland (13).

Aston Villa vs Man City: What has been said?

Guardiola revealed Dias' injury in his pre-match press conference.

The Manchester City manager confirmed: “Rubén will be out for a long time.”

When asked for more information, he said: “He will be out for three or four weeks.

“He felt something after 75 minutes against United, but he is very brave and kept going. “It's a muscle injury.”

On his squad's general injury problems, Guardiola added: “What I want is for my players to come back. I have the same feeling that the squad is really good.

“It's not about good or bad players, but I want the players to come back.”

• Manchester City have taken more shots than any other Premier League team this season (282). However, his shot conversion rate is just 9.9%, the lowest in a single campaign since 2006-07 (6.4%).
• Aston Villa have conceded 25 goals in the Premier League this season, with an xG against of 19.5, which is about five goals more than expected (5.5). Only the Wolves (40 goals conceded, 27.6 xGA) have a worse record this season (-12.4).

Aston Villa vs Man City: talkSPORT coverage

This Premier League clash will take place on Saturday, December 21.

Kickoff at Villa Park is scheduled for 12:30 p.m.

talkSPORT will have EXCLUSIVE live coverage of the game hosted by Reshmin Chowdhury.

Comments will come from Sam Matterface and the former Chelsea Defenseman Scott Minto.

To tune in to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 via the website, click HERE for the live stream.

You can also listen through the talkSPORT appon DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.

The match will also be broadcast live on TNT Sports.