All eyes will be on the Etihad Stadium this weekend as Manchester City host Aston Villa in the Premier League.
The game will be played on the 12t of February and the hosts begin the weekend in second place on 45 points while the visitors are in 11th place on 28 points.
It has been a tough week off the pitch for Manchester City following the allegations from the Premier League and they also struggled on the pitch last weekend at Tottenham Hotspur.
Manchester City lost the match 1-0 thanks to a goal in the 15th minute and Pep Guardiola’s team could not break down the hosts despite having 75 minutes to score the equaliser.
That was the first defeat in 4 games in all competitions for Manchester City following wins over Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers at home in the Premier League plus Arsenal at home in the FA Cup fourth round. Form in the Premier League shows Manchester City have won 3 of their last 6 matches.
Trends show Manchester City are unbeaten in their last 6 home games in all competitions. They are undefeated in 16 of their last 17 home Premier League fixtures and have won 13 of their last 15 league matches on home soil.
Manchester City have scored 3 or more goals in 12 of their last 15 home Premier League games and both teams have scored in 5 of their last 6 at the Etihad Stadium.
Aston Vila make the trip north on the back of a disappointing 4-2 home defeat at the hands of Leicester City in the Premier League last weekend.
Having opened the scoring in the 9th minute, Aston Villa conceded the equaliser 3 minutes later before taking the lead for a second time just after the half hour mark. Leicester City equalised for a second time and scored 2 further goals to take maximum points.
That result means Aston Villa have won 2 of their last 5 games in all competitions. The wins have come over Leeds United at home and Southampton away in the Premier League. There was a shock home defeat at the hands of Stevenage in the FA Cup and Aston Villa were held at home by Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League.
Trends show Aston Villa are undefeated in 4 of their last 5 Premier League fixtures and they have won each of their last 3 away league games.
Looking ahead to the team news and Manchester City are without central defender John Stones plus have doubts over the fitness of Phil Foden.
Aston Villa are without the injured trio of Bertrand Traore, Jed Steer, and Diego Carlos.
It will be interesting to see how the crowd reacts to what has happened off the pitch this week but the Manchester City players will be determined to put on a show. Aston Villa are capable of finding the back of the net in this game but Manchester City should come out on top, with over 3.5 goals scored.