The latest Manchester City team news and predicted line-up ahead of Pep Guardiola’s final game against Aston Villa.
Manchester City will hope to send Pep Guardiola off with a win when they face Aston Villa at the Etihad on Sunday – but their departing head coach could ring the changes with little riding on the result save for pride.
Bernardo Silva & John Stones are set to make their final appearances for Manchester City.placeholder image
Bernardo Silva & John Stones are set to make their final appearances for Manchester City. | Getty Images
Both Bernardo Silva and John Stones are set to play their final games for the club before leaving on free transfers, while there has been widespread speculation that Erling Haaland could be rested with Manchester City guaranteed to finish second in the table behind Arsenal.
As Guardiola prepares to bring the curtain down on his glittering career in the North West, we’ve put together our prediction for his final starting XI and gathered together all of the latest Manchester City team news ahead of Sunday’s match - and if you’re here in search of news ahead of the Fantasy Premier League deadline, you can find all of the latest FPL injury news by clicking here.
Silva & Stones expected to start final games for Manchester City
With the Premier League title out of reach following Tuesday’s 1-1 draw against Bournemouth, Guardiola is likely to rotate his squad in order to give departing players a chance to say goodbye to the supporters – with Stones expected to start just his fifth Premier League match of the season in central defence.
Bernardo Silva is also likely to retain his starting place in midfield, with the Portuguese player leaving on a free transfer alongside Stones when the pair’s contracts expire at the end of June.
There could also be a place in the starting line-up for Nathan Aké, who is expected to leave Manchester City this summer amid interest from teams in Italy and the Netherlands. The Dutchman has not made it onto the field in either of Manchester City’s most recent matches but is likely to play at least some part as he prepares to leave the club.
While there has been mounting speculation over the future of left-back Joško Gvardiol, it is not clear whether he will start ahead of Nico O’Reilly with the Croatian’s exit a matter of rumour as it stands. Gvardiol was on the bench against Bournemouth after he made his comeback from injury against Crystal Palace the prior week.
Will Haaland play against Aston Villa?