Aston Villa vs Manchester City - Premier League LIVE
FOOTBALL REPORTER and JACK GAUGHAN and TOM COLLOMOSSE, FOOTBALL REPORTER.30pm. Premier League standings Let's take a quick look at how things stand in the Premier League before kick-off: Enzo Maresca's rampant start Last weekend Enzo Maresca became the first manager to win their first seven league games in charge of a club, surpassing Pep Guardiola, Carlo Ancelotti and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer who won their first six with City, Chelsea and Manchester United respectively.
A win today would see City become just the eighth team in English top-flight history to start a league campaign with eight consecutive wins. Considering everything that has been going on around the club, and regardless of whether these results will even count come the end of the season, it's fair to say that Maresca has surpassed expectation after taking the reins from one of the greatest managers in Premier League history.
Villa could be City's toughest test though. Unai Emery's side have have won four of their last six Premier League games against Manchester City, including their last three consecutive games here at Villa Park.
'This is as close to Emery's first-choice XI' Tom Collomosse, Daily Mail Sport's Midlands reporter, at Villa Park: With the possible exception of Amadou Onana, who is out with a long-term injury, this is as close to Emery's first-choice XI as he has been this season. Alysson might look like a surprise but he's in on merit, with Mbaye, Buendia and Hemmings all on the bench and Garnacho not in the squad.
Aston Villa's dynamic duo Aston Villa endured a rocky start to the season, winning just one of their first five games in all competitions as the team came to terms with a summer overhaul that saw several big name players depart. Since that rough patch though, Villa have gone on to win five wins from their following six.
Central to their improved performances have been summer signings Nicolas Jackson and Johan Manzambi, who have scored eight goals combined in all competitions since the second week of September. Manzambi has scored and assisted in all three of the games he has started in the Premier League.
Villa fans will be relieved to see him in the starting line-up today after missing the midweek match against Viking through injury, and could be central to getting a result against Enzo Maresca's high-flying City today. Man City going bananas Manchester City fans are used to being Public Enemy No 1, and they certainly are embracing their unpopularity in the wake of being found guilty of breaking the Premier League's financial rules.
It appears that their nod to their days back in the second division, the giant inflatable bananas, are going to be a mainstay going forward. For those curious as to what Imre Varadi, the man whose name sparked all of this silliness, thinks of all this, feel free to check out Daily Mail Sport's interviewhere.
'The booing was loud and clear' Tom Collomosse, Daily Mail Sport's Midlands reporter, at Villa Park: This is Manchester City's first away games since Anfield and though there are still only a smattering of people in the ground, the booing was loud and clear just now when they emerged for the warm-up. This weekend's Premier League line-up There may just be four games on this Premier League Saturday, but it should be a good one, with a tasty London derby to look forward to later.