After a resounding midweek 5-1 home win in the UEFA Champions League league phase, Enzo Maresca's troops turn their attention back to the Premier League ahead of a tricky trip to Aston Villa.
On Tuesday night, Manchester City hosted reigning Greek Super League champions AEK Athens at the Etihad Stadium in the UEFA Champions League.
For Maresca's side nothing less than a win would do after the 2-4 defeat to Paris Saint Germain in the previous match, with games against the likes of Barcelona and Napoli on the horizon.
It didn't take long for the hosts to open the scoring, with Elliot Anderson pouncing on the rebound of Enzo Fernandez's free-kick in the 12th minute, giving the Blues a well-deserved lead early on.
Ten minutes before the break, Phil Foden found himself in the right place to turn in Rico Lewis' well-worked cross for his second goal in as many matches, following his three-match suspension after the Manchester derby.
Following the half-time break, Stavros Pilios found himself in acres of space before drilling the ball into the bottom corner for his first goal in over two years, giving the travelling fans something to celebrate.
Not to be outdone, Manchester City wanted more. In the 57th minute, the ball fell to Rayan Cherki, who promptly dropped his defender with a beautiful Cruyff turn before passing the ball into the Athens net from the edge of the area, restoring his side's two goal lead.
The rout didn't stop there though. Foden's second effort, a wonderfully-struck volley, left the result all but confirmed in the 65th minute. Just 10 minutes later and his hat-trick was complete, moving the 26-year-old up to fifth in the list of all-time English goalscorers in the UEFA Champions League.
Next up for the Blues is a notoriously difficult trip to Villa Park to face Unai Emery's in-form Aston Villa side, who are undefeated in their last seven matches; their last outing being a 3-1 win against Norwegian side Viking in the Champions League.
Villa sit in 12th place in the Premier League after a difficult start to the season but their luck looks to be turning and this one will be anything but straightforward.
Manchester City will be looking for their first win at Villa Park since 2021 as they look to maintain their 100 percent start to the 2026/27 league campaign.
Here is everything you need to know ahead of this one!
Match Details
Aston Villa vs Manchester City will take place at Villa Park on Saturday 24 October, with kick-off scheduled for 12:30 UK.
Match Officials
Peter Bankes will referee his 14th Manchester City match on Saturday, his last outing as referee in a City match was the 2-0 win against Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final.
Coincidentally this will be the third match between these two sides that Bankes has overseen, the result being 2-1 in both games with each side winning one.
The full list of officials can be found here!
Team News
Matheus Nunes missed out on the midweek game after picking up a knock against Ipswich, the severity of his injury isn't known at this point, a start in this one remains a doubt.
Nico O'Reilly remains a doubt ahead of Saturday's match, he was not part of Tuesday's squad after aggravating the back injury he picked up ahead of the 1-0 win against Coventry.
Mateo Kovacic was substituted at the 50 minute mark against Ipswich after picking up a small knock, while he may be involved on the bench a start is unlikely against Villa.
Antoine Semenyo is set to miss roughly eight weeks with a knee injury following the 3-2 win against Ipswich. The injury was initially feared to be much more serious, with the two month recovery period looking to be somewhat of a let off for the Ghanaian winger.
In positive news, Josko Gvardiol's withdrawal against AEK Athens looks to have been merely a precaution following a fairly heavy challenge, he should be available on Saturday.
Golden boot race leader Erling Haaland is also fit to start after being rested on Tuesday.
For Unai Emery, a substantial injury list will be in his mind whilst selecting the line-up. Matteo Ruggeri (hamstring), Ian Maatsen (ankle), Aaron Wan-Bissaka (hamstring), Modou Keba Cisse (knock), Amadou Onana (ruptured ACL), Johan Manzambi (calf) will all miss out through injury.
George Hemmings made his return to action off the bench against Viking following a brief spell on the sidelines.
Enzo Maresca's Press Conference Quotes
Enzo Maresca will preview the trip to Villa Park in a press conference at the City Football Academy from 13:30 UK on Friday.
Head to Head
Since their first meeting in 1899, the two sides have faced off a total of 185 times. Of those 185 times, Manchester City have won 82, and Aston Villa have won on 61 occasions.
For City fans, the most famous meeting between the two will most certainly be the 2021/22 season closer when Manchester City came back from two goals down to win the league on the final day.
Last time out was an emotional affair as the Etihad Stadium bid farewell to several City legends in Pep Guardiola, Bernardo Silva, and John Stones. Whilst it wasn't known at the time, it would also prove to be the final time, Ballon D'or and Champions League winner, Rodri would be at the Etihad as a Blue.
On that day Aston Villa were triumphant with a 2-1 win. Antoine Semenyo opened the scoring before Ollie Watkins responded with a double. In what would've been a particularly fitting end to the Pep Guardiola era, Phil Foden grabbed the last goal only for VAR to spoil the occasion.
With Aston Villa doing the double over City last season, Enzo Maresca's men will be hiping for their first away win against the Villains since April 2021.
Statistics
Despite having only lost one of their last ten in all competitions, Villa have failed to win at home this season in the Premier League.
In the last two matches between the two sides at Villa Park, Aston Villa have taken the lead in the opening 20 minutes and gone on to win both.
Both sides have conceded an average of 1.1 goals per 90 in all competitions this season.
A win for City would see them equal Liverpool's season opening win streak from the 2019/20 season and leave them just one off the record holders, Jose Mourinho's Chelsea side in 2005/06.
Across all competitions, Manchester City have gone unbeaten in their last 12 league matches.
How to Watch
Aston Villa vs Manchester City will be available to watch on TNT Sports 1 and HBO Max. Radio coverage will be available on BBC Radio 5 Live.
For fans following from the USA, coverage will be available on FuboTV and USA Network.