LONDON: Manchester City will seek to avoid another shock home defeat against Aston Villa on Saturday when the sides meet for the second time this season at the Etihad.
Villa eliminated City from the League Cup in September and joined Manchester United and Liverpool as the only sides to win a competitive match at the Etihad Stadium this calendar year.
The Birmingham side will be facing Manchester opposition for the second consecutive week having led United 2-0 at home last Saturday before succumbing to a 3-2 defeat.
“I thought the performance against Manchester United was a good indicator of where we’re heading,” goalkeeper Brad Guzan told the club website. “I think it’s a sign of good things to come. We want to create something special and the manager (Paul Lambert) wants to do that too.
Villa (2-3-6) are just three points above the drop, but Guzan insists his side is on the right path under manager Lambert.
Undefeated in the league, Manchester City (7-4-0) will have the opportunity to retake first place with a win, at least for a couple of hours until neighbours United travel to Norwich in the evening kick-off.
Despite the strong play in the Premiership, manager Roberto Mancini has been criticised for his team’s sub-par performances in the Champions League – his reaction essentially conceding his team won’t progress from the group after a 2-2 draw with Ajax – followed by scraping out a 2-1 victory Sunday over Tottenham on Edin Dzeko’s goal in the 86th minute.
It was the sixth goal as a sub for Dzeko, who has a team-high seven in 16 matches over all competition. (AP)
