Man City vs Aston Villa LIVE: Matheus Nunes nets late winner as hosts move into top four
Man City 2-1 Aston Villa: Pep Guardiola’s men close in on a Champions League place with big win over rivals Villa
Manchester City moved up to third in the Premier League and took a huge step to securing Champions League football after beating Aston Villa 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium.
Unai Emery’s Villa started proceedings in rapid fashion with Marcus Rashford, starting ahead of Marco Asensio and Ollie Watkins, striking the post just 17 seconds into the match. The visitors had another strong chance batted away and City managed to strike first.
Omar Marmoush drove into the box from the left wing and pulled a pass back to Bernardo Silva who rocketed in the opener to get the Etihad celebrating. Their joy didn’t last long as Jacob Ramsey was brought down in the City box resulting in a penalty that Rashford converted to bring the game level at half-time.
City turned up the tempo in the second hlaf but they needed stoppage time to force a winner as Matheus Nunes arrived at the back post to turn Jeremy Doku’s cross into the back of the net and secure all three points.
Follow all the latest build-up, team news and updates from the Etihad below:
Man City find huge Champions League boost from unlikely source
Manchester City’s bid for a 15th successive season of Champions Leaguefootball was bolstered by two late goals in a 2-0 win at Everton they barely deserved.
The game was meandering towards a draw, which would have made them vulnerable to Chelsea who play rivals Nottingham Forest on Monday, when 20-year-old Nico O’Reilly stabbed home in the 84th minute.
Substitute Mateo Kovacic doubled the lead in added time to open up a four-point cushion over their sixth-placed Stamford Bridge chasers.
Man City find huge Champions League boost from unlikely source
Aston Villa show off their key advantage to ignite Champions League charge
The report from last time out at Villa Park...
Aston Villa could bounce from the Champions League straight back into the Champions League. Four days after being knocked out, they scored four goals to take a giant stride towards a swift return.
Newcastle United were last season’s upstart conquerors of Paris Saint-Germain and arguably the form team in England. They left Villa Park vanquished, their own chances of a top-five finish diminished as they were dismantled. Overpowered by Villa on the day, the danger is that they will be overtaken in the run-in.
“We are in our best moment,” said Unai Emery. For Villa, fresh from beating the potential Champions League winners, one seminal week may be leading to another. With Manchester City next, with an FA Cup semi-final on Saturday, a team with 10 wins in 11 games have momentum and strength in depth. Newcastle’s first defeat since the time when they had not won a trophy in decades came courtesy of Villa’s squad and Emery’s brilliance in using it.
Aston Villa show off their key advantage to ignite Champions League charge
Is the match on TV?
When is Manchester City vs Aston Villa?
The Premier League fixture will kick off at 8pm BST on Tuesday 22 April at the Etihad.
TV channel and live stream
It will be shown on Sky Sports Main Event and Football, with a live stream available for customers on Sky Go or Now TV.
Predicted line-ups
Man City XI: Ortega; Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Gonzalez, Bernardo; Savinho, De Bruyne, Doku; Marmoush.
Aston Villa XI: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne; Kamara, Tielemans; Rogers, Asensio, Rashford; Watkins
Team news
Ederson may miss out again due to a going injury and Erling Haaland remains out. Manuel Akanji returned off the bench against Everton. Nico O’Reilly should continue after his crucial goal at Goodison.
Ollie Watkins struck against Newcastle on his return to the starting line-up and it would be a surprise to see the striker drop out, but Villa have a huge game on Saturday against Crystal Palace in the FA Cup semi-finals.
Man City vs Aston Villa LIVE
Manchester City host Aston Villa in the Premier League in a match Pep Guardiola called a “final” for his team.
The race for Champions League qualification could not be closer, with fifth-placed City a point ahead of seventh-placed Aston Villa in the table. Just three points separate Nottingham Forest in third with Villa in seventh, with five games to go.
City earned a crucial late win at Everton on Saturday, before Villa thrashed in-form Newcastle 4-1 later in the day for their fifth Premier League win in a row.
It means Unai Emery’s side have beaten Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle before arriving at the Etihad, while they also defeated City earlier this season.
"Villa are a contender to qualify for the Champions League and when you see the game they played against my friend Luis Enrique and PSG I was really impressed,” Guardiola said.
Man City vs Aston Villa LIVE
Good evening and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of tonight’s match between Manchester City and Aston Villa in the Premier League.
Both sides are hunting a place in next season’s Champions League and there’s just a point separating them as they enter a potentially crucial match at the Etihad.
And we’ll have all the latest build-up and team news right here.
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