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Erling Haaland starts for Manchester City at Villa Park and Johan Manzambi has passed his fitness test for Aston Villa, as the confirmed lineups landed for Saturday's early Premier League kick-off — leaders City chasing an eighth straight league win, hosts Villa hunting a statement result.
Haaland Back as Maresca Makes Four Changes
Haaland returns to the City XI after a minor ankle knock, having sat out Tuesday's 5-1 Champions League win over AEK Athens. Enzo Maresca makes four changes from that side, with Marc Guehi, Iliman Ndiaye and Jeremy Doku joining Haaland in the team and Rico Lewis, Allan, Phil Foden and Tyrone Samba dropping out, as reported by Sports Mole in its confirmed lineups report.
The eye-catching call is Foden's place on the bench. The England midfielder scored a hat-trick against AEK in midweek but must wait his turn today, with Rayan Cherki — another scorer on Tuesday — starting alongside Ndiaye and Doku behind Haaland. Gianluigi Donnarumma is in goal behind Abdukodir Khusanov, captain Ruben Dias, Guehi and Josko Gvardiol, with Elliot Anderson and Enzo Fernandez anchoring midfield.
City remain without Antoine Semenyo, who is out for around eight weeks with a knee injury — the one major absence in a squad that has won all seven of its league games so far. It completes the return Maresca promised on Thursday, when he declared Haaland 100% available for the trip.
Manchester City XI: Donnarumma; Khusanov, Dias, Guehi, Gvardiol; Anderson, Fernandez; Ndiaye, Cherki, Doku; Haaland. Subs: Rulli, Kovacic, Ait-Nouri, Reis, Bouaddi, O'Reilly, Foden, McAidoo, Lewis.
Manzambi Wins His Fitness Race for Villa
For Villa, the big news is Manzambi. Unai Emery rated the Switzerland international 50-50 at his pre-match press conference after he missed Wednesday's Champions League game against Viking, but the 21-year-old is fit to start in midfield alongside Boubacar Kamara and Joao Gomes.
Emery can also revert to his recognised back four: Matty Cash returns on the right after being rested in midweek and Ian Maatsen is back at left-back, with Victor Lindelof and Pau Torres in the middle and Zion Suzuki in goal. The other notable selection is Alysson, who starts on the flank ahead of Emiliano Buendia, with captain John McGinn on the other side and Nicolas Jackson leading the line. Seventeen-year-old forward Brian Madjo is named on the bench instead of Tammy Abraham.
Villa are still without Amadou Onana, Matteo Ruggeri and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, but they arrive in form — five wins from their last six in all competitions, including the 3-1 defeat of Viking on Wednesday and a 1-0 league win at Newcastle. Kick-off at Villa Park is at 12:30 BST, with NBC Sports carrying the game in the United States.
Aston Villa XI: Suzuki; Cash, Lindelof, Torres, Maatsen; Kamara, Gomes; McGinn, Manzambi, Alysson; Jackson. Subs: Bizot, Mings, Barkley, Buendia, Mbaye, Bogarde, Goretzka, Madjo, Hemmings.
So What: A Bogey Ground Meets a Perfect Record
Something has to give. City have made the best start by a new manager in Premier League history — seven wins from seven, top of the table on 21 points — but Villa Park has become a bogey ground: City have lost their last two league visits in this fixture, and Emery has won two of his three head-to-head meetings with Maresca. Haaland, too, has a point to prove here, with just one goal in five career appearances against Villa.
A City win piles the pressure on Arsenal, who host Everton later this afternoon, and on Chelsea before their evening derby with Tottenham. A Villa win, by contrast, would be the result that turns Emery's European high-flyers into genuine domestic contenders — and the first crack in City's perfect start would come at the ground that has troubled them most.
Beyond the Final Whistle: Maresca has backed freshness over sentiment — benching a hat-trick hero in Foden tells you how seriously City are taking this ground. But lineups do not win bogey fixtures; nerve does. Villa's midfield, with Manzambi fit, is built to disrupt City's rhythm, and if Jackson can drag Dias and Guehi around early, this could be the lunchtime the perfect start dies. City to be tested like never before this season — will Haaland finally deliver at Villa Park? Tell us what you think in the comments.
