Man City vs Aston Villa LIVE!
The race for Champions League qualification is the sole focus tonight as Manchester City and Aston Villa meet at the Etihad Stadium. With the top five in the Premier League all qualifying for Europe’s top table for the first time next season, the battle for those valuable spots has never been fiercer. Just three points separate Nottingham Forest in third and Villa in seventh.
It was a nightmare weekend for fourth-placed Newcastle, who were thumped by Villa as all their top-five rivals win, including Chelsea’s injury-time win at Fulham on Sunday and Forest withstanding a barrage from Tottenham last night. City won at Everton and now are looking to win three Premier League games on the bounce for the first time since October.
Villa scored four over Newcastle, just days after a gruelling loss on aggregate to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, but will a third huge game in eight days be too much for Unai Emery’s squad? Changes are expected from both team, including a possible start for Marcus Rashford against his parent club’s rivals. Follow the game LIVE below with our dedicated match blog.
11min: Villa cannot get out of their half at the moment.
8min: Looking at the replays, that could go down as a Martinez own goal as he parries it against his own foot and into the net.
Anyway, City lead and Unai Emery is literally scratching his head.
7min: They almost went behind after 18 seconds, but are now in front!
Bernardo gets on the end of Marmoush’s shot, which is straight at Martinez but the goalkeeper cannot keep it out.
5min: Kamara tries to get the better of the City backline again, but this time Rashford isn’t on the same wavelength and the pass rolls through to Ortega.
3min: City need to get their foot on the ball, calm things down already after that eye-opening start.
1min: Oh my word, Rashford hits the post inside 20 seconds!
Great footwork from Rashford to send Dias this way and that, ducks into the area, beats Ortega but not the upright!
Lots of empty seats as the players walk out.
Aston Villa have not won a Premier League game at Manchester City since 2007.
A staggering record for two of the biggest clubs in the country.
Five minutes until kick-off.
Marcus Rashford needs to perform tonight. He has a good record against Manchester City.
Latest updatesOlder updates
