Manchester City travel to the West Midlands on Saturday lunchtime to face Aston Villa in a Premier League fixture that both sides will approach with one eye on the treatment table.
The Citizens arrive at Villa Park as league leaders, but Enzo Maresca’s squad has been stretched thin by a string of fitness concerns heading into the weekend.
Antoine Semenyo has already been ruled out of the contest, while the head coach must also monitor the fitness of Nico O’Reilly, who is struggling with a back complaint.
City could be without Matheus Nunes, who is nursing a muscle issue, and Mateo Kovacic, who picked up a knock during City’s recent outing against Ipswich Town. All three remain doubtful, leaving Maresca with selection decisions to make before kick-off.
Villa also counting the cost
Unai Emery’s hosts are far from immune to their own injury worries. Aston Villa will definitely be without Amadou Onana, who is sidelined with an ACL injury, as well as Matteo Ruggeri, who is out with a thigh problem, and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who continues to be troubled by a hamstring issue.
Johan Manzambi and Modou Keba Cisse are also doubts, with the pair carrying muscle and groin problems respectively into the final days before the match.
Both clubs head into the weekend off the back of positive results in Europe. City eased past AEK Athens in the Champions League. Also, Villa claimed a 3-1 win over Viking FK, giving both sets of players and supporters a measure of confidence ahead of a fixture that carries significant weight at the top end of the Premier League table.
With City sitting top of the standings, a win at Villa Park would allow Maresca’s side to further stamp their authority on the title race before attention turns to a testing trip to third-placed Brighton & Hove Albion later in the month.
For Emery and Villa, containing a City attack, even with their own walking wounded, will be no small task.
Haaland boost despite growing concerns
There was, however, a measure of good news for City supporters this week. Erling Haaland was left on the bench as an unused substitute during the Champions League in midweek. Maresca opted for caution after the Norwegian striker picked up a knock in the win over Ipswich three days earlier.
Speaking after that comfortable midweek victory, Maresca gave the clearest indication yet that his leading marksman will be fit to face Villa. As quoted by Sky Sports, the Italian said: “He’s ok to start.”
The head coach also used the post-match press conference to explain his heavy rotation for the Champions League tie. He revealed that several first-team regulars were given a breather rather than being managed through injury concerns.
“We had five or six players who were ready to play, but they had a rest, which I’m happy with,” Maresca said.
That rotation policy has become something of a hallmark of the former Chelsea boss’s start to life in Manchester, with just four players having started all of City’s seven Premier League matches so far this season.
A further nine players have made four or more starts, and 18 players in total have featured in the starting XI. It’s a spread of game time City’s decision-makers will hope pays dividends as fixtures pile up before Christmas.
