Aston Villa vs Man City
Venue: Villa Park
Kick off: 2:30pm
The Premier League’s bottom club host the league leaders as Manchester City travel to Villa Park for Remi Garde’s first match as Aston Villa manager on Sunday (today).
The hosts are still looking for their first home win of the season, while Manuel Pellegrini’s side come into this match unbeaten in four league outings.
Having lost 1-3 to Tottenham Hotspur on Monday, Villa sit at the bottom of the table with no wins since the opening day of the season.
The defeat at White Hart Lane was the seventh in a row for the Midlands side, and eighth in all competitions, following their League Cup exit last week.
Remi Garde’s appointment as Tim Sherwood’s successor was confirmed ahead of Monday’s fixture, but the Frenchman watched on from the stands, seeing his new side fall behind less than three minutes into their match.
The Frenchman has insisted that he will have the final say when it comes to the January transfer window, and revealed that former Aston Villa manager, Gerard Houllier, convinced him to take up the role.
Villa have secured just one point at home this season, losing four of their five fixtures at Villa Park so far this season, leaving the team with the worst home record in the Premier League this season.
The team have been struggling to score goals, netting just 10 times in their first 11 matches – only Stoke City have scored fewer times.
Summer signing, Jordan Ayew, has scored in their last two league fixtures though.
Defending has also been a problem, with the team keeping just one clean sheet so far, while conceding 20 goals.
Villa have let in two or more goals in four of their last five matches.
Pellegrini’s side come into this match at the top of the table, ahead of Arsenal on goal difference after losing just twice in their first 11 outings of the 2015-16 season.
The league leaders struggled to a 2-1 win over 10-man Norwich City last time out, leaving them with three wins in four matches in the league, and unbeaten in eight matches in all competitions.
City have been in Champions League action since beating the Canaries, defeating Sevilla on Tuesday to secure a place in the knockout stage of the competitions, having also booked a quarter-final spot in the League Cup recently.
Sergio Aguero remains the team’s top scorer with six goals, despite the Argentine having been sidelined with a hamstring injury for the last month.
The team has more goals than any other side in the Premier League so far this season, netting 26 times.
Summer signings, Raheem Sterling and Kevin de Bruyne, have been key during Aguero’s absence.
Sterling has five goals in his last six appearances for the team, while the Belgian has three goals and four assists in the Premier League since joining from Wolfsburg.
The side also have one of the strongest defences in the top flight, having conceded just nine goals so far, while keeping six clean sheets – only local rivals Manchester United have kept their opponents out more often.
Aston Villa possible starting lineup: Guzan, Hutton, Clark, Lescott, Richards, Ayew, Bacuna, Westwood, Grealish, Gestede, Agbonlahor.
Manchester City possible starting lineup: Hart, Sagna, Kompany, Otamendi, Kolarov, Toure, Fernandinho, Navas, Sterling, De Bruyne, Bony.