Manchester City are looking for some respite amid a dire run of results when they visit Aston Villa in the Premier League on Saturday.

Pep Guardiola’s side plunged further into crisis last weekend following their miserable late defeat to local rivals Manchester United, an eighth loss in their last 11 matches and a result that leaves them nine points off league leaders Liverpool having played a game more.

The journey to Villa Park will certainly put Man City’s power of resolve to the test in a fixture they lost last season. Guardiola has several defensive injuries to consider and he may have to go back to basics with his tactical instructions this weekend.

Here is how Man City could line up in the Midlands.

GK: Ederson – Ederson’s return to the team after several matches on the bench has seen two straight defeats to Juventus and Man Utd. The Brazilian has been exposed by the misfiring defence in front of him.

RB: Rico Lewis – The young and versatile full-back was missing for the Manchester derby after seeing red the weekend before against Crystal Palace. He’s been used in a range of weird and wonderful functions this season but a return to a more orthodox right-back role may be on the cards.

CB: John Stones – Stones’ two most recent outings were both of Man City’s defeats to Tottenham Hotspur but injuries to Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake mean the Englishman may be drafted back into the starting XI at Villa Park.

CB: Ruben Dias – Even the defiant and usually imperious Dias hasn’t been able to resolve Man City’s defensive issues. The Portuguese is the best of an out-of-sorts backline at present and things could have been much worse without him.

LB: Josko Gvardiol – Gvardiol’s form over the last month has been way below his best and errors have been all too frequent. With no traditional senior left-backs in-house, however, Gvardiol’s place in the team is safe for now. At least he’s a goal threat at the other end.

DM: Ilkay Gundogan – The decline of the German has been plain for all too see since his return to the Etihad Stadium but in fairness to the ageing midfielder, he’s been asked to fill Rodri’s gargantuan shoes.

DM: Mateo Kovacic – Kovacic made his first appearance since the November international break against Man Utd and the Croatian’s return will be welcomed with open arms by Guardiola. He should provide some much-needed defensive cover in the engine room.

RW: Bernardo Silva – The Portuguese is one of Man City’s sub-par superstars, failing to reach his usual lofty standards. He will be asked to do plenty of work in both halves against a high intensity Villa side.

AM: Kevin De Bruyne – De Bruyne sparkled in Man City’s only win in their last 11 matches against Nottingham Forest but has been relatively quiet since. The reigning Premier League champions desperately need his wizardry on Saturday.

LW: Jeremy Doku – Often looking both unstoppable and ungainly simultaneously, Doku may be unleashed as a diminutive battering ram on Saturday. He should sprint relentlessly down Villa’s left-hand side.

ST: Erling Haaland – The Norwegian had just 21 touches during the Manchester derby, three more than he enjoyed against Juventus in the Champions League. If he’s not involved, he simply has to be scoring, but Man City’s general lethargy means that hasn’t happened too frequently in recent weeks.

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