Who Did Man City Draw

Image source, Getty Images

Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard says Jack Grealish deserves a "warm welcome" on his return to Villa Park but says his players won't be distracted as they look to make it three wins from three.

Grealish has been injured since the international break but could return with Manchester City to face his former club on Wednesday.

"I don't think we will be distracted by it because we've got such a big task to focus on," said Gerrard.

"Jack very much deserves a warm welcome and I have no doubt he'll get that. "This is his club and it will be when his career is over, because he was here as a little boy and he has come through the academy.

"The club have benefited a lot from what Jack has given and we very much wish him well moving forward for the remainder of his career. Obviously not for 90 minutes tomorrow.

"He's very much got everyone's respect and love here. I'm new to it, but I'll certainly pay my respects as well and wish him well."

Pep Guardiola has been speaking before his side travel to Aston Villa in the Premier League on Wednesday.

Here are the key lines from the Manchester City boss:

• Phil Foden and Jack Grealish could return from injury for the trip to Villa Park, but Kevin de Bruyne has not trained since testing negative for Covid-19. John Stones is also better after a illness last week;

• "Steven Gerrard is a Premier League manager so he's already a good manager," Guardiola said. "I don't believe there is one single manager in the league who doesn't have quality - they are incredible managers who can train teams to fight for titles";

• On Aston Villa, Guardiola said he is "imagining the toughest game possible" away from home after the West Midlands side's back-to-back wins;

• After severeal weeks without key players, Guardiola said he "trusts all of the squad" and "when one can't play another comes in";

• December is "the toughest month of the year" but Guardiola said his side are playing at an "exceptional" level, with goals coming from all over the squad. He added: "We're not up there with the top scorers like [Sadio] Mane or [Mohamed] Salah, but if we didn't have all players scoring we would not manage to qualify for the Champions League";

• On whether Grealish has settled in, Guardiola said: "You always need a bit of time, but if you analyse his games, does he play bad? Absolutely not";

• On whether we have to wait until next season to see Grealish's best, Guardiola said: "I don't think so. We have seven or eight months ahead of us and I want to see it this season."

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester City tightened their grip on the Premier League trophy after coming from behind to beat Aston Villa and move 11 points clear at the top of the table.

John McGinn stunned the league leaders after just 20 seconds when he fired home from Ollie Watkins' low cross but Phil Foden levelled midway through the first half.

Rodri then headed City ahead five minutes before the break but the points were put in jeopardy when defender John Stones was sent off before the break for a raking challenge on Jacob Ramsey.

However, Villa full-back Matty Cash senselessly picked up two bookings in three minutes shortly after half-time to waste the man advantage and City could cruise home.

The game was played in the aftermath of the failed European Super League breakaway with Pep Guardiola keen to draw a line under the events.

With just six matches left, time was running out for closest challengers Manchester United to rein their local rivals in at the top.

Nigel Rothband, The Man City Show podcast , external

I received a book this week - Man City 50 Memorable Matches - which consists of 50 memorable games attended by the author, starting in the mid-50s right up to the Champions League final in 2021.

The snowy conditions at Etihad Stadium this weekend reminded me of one of the great games included - 'The Ballet on Ice' at Maine Road on 6 December 1967 against Tottenham Hotspur.

The conditions that day were unplayable, with thick ice and heavy snow, but the game went ahead.

Until I read the book, I was unaware of one of the major reasons behind City's extraordinary performance that day, coming from behind to win 4-1. Apparently, City's wily skipper, Tony Book, remembered a tip given by a former coach. 'Skip' told his players to take off the top layer of leather from their studs. It would let the nails show through giving the players much better grip on the treacherous surface!

Even allowing for the fact that no ref would have passed the pitch fit for play nowadays, Book's ploy would have fallen foul of the normal boots and studs inspection carried out these days.

During the first half against West Ham this weekend, the pitch lines were starting to disappear under the snow.

In the extended break, Lee Jackson, City's head groundsman, and his staff worked tirelessly to clear the whole pitch. The combination of under-soil heating and the outstanding job done by Lee's team meant the game this weekend did go ahead with not too many adaptations required to players' footwear.

Image source, Getty Images

Paris St-Germain and Argentina forward Lionel Messi won the Ballon d'Or - awarded to the best footballer of the year - for a record seventh time.

Bayern Munich and Poland striker Robert Lewandowski came second, Chelsea and Italy midfielder Jorginho was third and Real Madrid's French striker Karim Benzema finished fourth.

Fourteen of the 30 players shortlisted for the Ballon d'Or currently play in the Premier League.

Chelsea had five players represented, with third-placed Jorginho joined by N'Golo Kante in fifth, Romelu Lukaku in 12th, Mason Mount in 19th and Cesar Azpilicueta, who tied for 29th.

Premier League champions Manchester City had the same number as Kevin de Bruyne came eighth, Raheem Sterling 15th, Riyad Mahrez 20th, Phil Foden 25th and Ruben Dias 26th.

Manchester United pair Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes were sixth and tied for 21st respectively, Liverpool's Mohamed Salah was seventh and Tottenham's Harry Kane 23rd.

Read the full report and see the final list

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester City visit Aston Villa in this season's first round of midweek Premier League fixtures on Wednesday, but who will make it into Pep Guardiola's starting XI as they go in search of a sixth straight win?

You'll be able to pick - and share on social media - your own line-up for every Premier League game throughout the campaign.

It's up to you how to approach it - you could go for the team you WANT the boss to pick or the one you THINK he will.

Either way, it's time to choose your Citizens team to face Villa

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester City's Kevin de Bruyne, Ruben Dias, Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling are all on the 30-man shortlist for this year's Ballon d'Or, with a winner to be announced in Paris on Monday evening.

All were influential as City won the Premier League and Carabao Cup last season, plus reached the final of the Champions League, which they lost to Chelsea.

See the full shortlist here and follow the awards show and results on our live page from 19:00 GMT.

Simon Stone, BBC Sport

Apart from the heavy snow, which earned Manchester City groundsman Lee Jackson and his staff 'men of the match' honours from Pep Guardiola, the most notable aspect at the Etihad Stadium was the gulf in class between what still is two members of the 'top four'.

Without Jack Grealish, Phil Foden and Kevin de Bruyne, City still had an attacking edge.

In contrast, West Ham were muted. Neither Michail Antonio, nor Said Benrahma made any significant impression on the game.

Since the end of September, Antonio has scored once and Benrahma twice, both against Genk in the Europa League.

With the matches piling up, this is the time where West Ham's weaknesses may start to get exposed.

Who Did Man City Draw

Source: https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/teams/manchester-city

Share this post