Man City vs Aston Villa LIVE commentary: Citizens look to continue title charge against Champions League-chasing Villa – kick-off time, team news and talkSPORT coverage

Manchester City’s quest to become Premier League champions again sees them take on Aston Villa this evening, and it’s live on talkSPORT 2.

Pep Guardiola’s men were unable to beat Arsenal at the Etihad this weekend, meaning they are third heading into the final games of the season.

The Citizens were not at their best and managed only one shot on target against their opponents.

Meanwhile, Villa returned from the international break with a 2-0 win over Wolves.

That leaves Unai Emery’s side in the driver’s seat for a top-four spot, and they can do the double against City after beating them at Villa Park earlier this year.

Man City against Aston Villa: Haaland in difficulty

It was another scoreless game for Erling Haaland, who seems to be struggling at the moment.

The striker has scored just four league goals in his last 11 games.

It’s a poor return for a player who notched 36 in the top flight last season and has started this year in similar form.

But Haaland also offers very little build-up play and was heavily criticized by Sky Sports pundit Roy Keane after City’s 0-0 draw with Arsenal.

Keane said: “The levels of his overall game are so bad. And not just today but in general.

“In terms of in front of goal he is the best in the world, but his overall game is so bad.

“He’s almost like a Ligue 2 player. That’s how I see him. His general game needs to improve.

“That will be enough in the next few years. Being that brilliant striker is fantastic, but he needs to improve his overall game.”

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• Manchester City have won 17 of their last 18 Premier League home games against Aston Villa (L1), winning the last 13 games in a row since a 2-0 defeat in April 2007.
• Following their 1-0 win at Villa Park in December, Aston Villa are looking to complete their first league double against Manchester City since the 1962-63 campaign.
• Aston Villa have won just one of their last 30 away league matches against the reigning top-flight champions (D6 L23), beating Manchester United 1-0 in December 2009. The Villans have lost their last nine such matches by a cumulative score of 29-7.

Man City vs Aston Villa: team news

The hosts will be hoping Ederson is fit enough to start after narrowly missing out at the weekend.

However, they will most likely be without Nathan Ake after he limped off.

He joins Kyle Walker and Matheus Nunes on the sidelines, while John Stones could be on the bench again as he continues to battle a kidnapper problem.

For Villa, star striker Ollie Watkins was ruled out with a hamstring problem after limping off at half-time.

Jacob Ramsey will also play no role and joins Boubacar Kamara, Tyrone Mings and Emi Buendia on the treatment table.

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• Manchester City have won 27 of their last 29 Premier League matches played on a Wednesday (D1 L1), with their only defeat in this run coming against Aston Villa in the reverse fixture. At home, they have won their last 19 league matches on Wednesday and are unbeaten in 30 (W26, D4) since a 1-0 defeat to Tottenham in May 2010.
• Manchester City have won 19 of their last 21 Premier League games in April (D1 L1) and are unbeaten in 11 games since a 2-1 home loss to Leeds United in 2021.
• Aston Villa are unbeaten in their last five away matches in the Premier League (3 wins, 2 draws), although their last away defeat dates back to Manchester (2-3 against Man Utd in December). The Villans last enjoyed a longer unbeaten away streak in the competition between November 2008 and February 2009 (7).

Man City vs Aston Villa: what was said?

Guardiola has responded to criticism over his decision to speak to his players in front of the cameras at the end of matches.

Speaking at his pre-match press conference, he said sarcastically: “I do it for the cameras, for my ego.

“I’m the famous person on the team and I need the cameras on me to fall asleep with incredible satisfaction.

“I always try to criticize the players there and let them know how bad they are. Especially when Erling scores three goals, the cameras have to be on me.”

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• Aston Villa’s shot conversion rate is 14.4% this season, the highest ever (since 1997-98) in a single Premier League campaign. In the same period, their record of 14.4 shots per game is the third highest in a season, after 2002-03 (16.2) and 2001-02 (14.7).
• Leon Bailey scored Aston Villa’s winner against Manchester City in the reverse fixture – the last Villa player to score home and away goals against the Citizens in the same campaign was Juan Pablo Angel in 2003 -04.
• Moussa Diaby has been involved in four goals in his last four Premier League matches for Aston Villa (1 goal, 3 assists), although he has only started one of those matches.

Man City vs Aston Villa: date and how to follow

This Premier League clash will take place on Wednesday April 3.

Kick-off at the Etihad is scheduled for 8:15 p.m.

talkSPORT 2 will have live commentary from the blue half of Manchester with Ian Danter and former Watford striker Troy Deeney guiding you through the action.

talkSPORT.com will also have all the reactions.

To tune into talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 via the website, click HERE for the live stream. You can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, via your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.