Manchester City vs Aston Villa LIVE: Premier League result, final score and reaction
Follow all the action from Etihad Stadium
Follow live coverage as Manchester City face Aston Villa today in the Premier League. Another top-flight season will be covered in full right here with The Independent, as reigning champions Manchester City look to make it an unprecedented five titles in a row come the end of 2024/25.
The likes of Arsenal and Liverpool will be chasing Pep Guardiola's side, but just as fascinating will be the race for Champions League places, with more teams than ever before having designs on top-four finishes. Chelsea remain big-spending, Manchester United's latest rebuild continues and both Tottenham and Newcastle will expect improvements this year - yet it was Aston Villa who snared fourth last term.
Meanwhile, it's Southampton, Leicester City and Ipswich Town who made it back to the elite after promotion last year and each will have hope they can make it more than a one-year stay. Follow the latest live action from the Premier League below:
Manchester City vs Aston Villa
Substitution James John McAtee Jérémy Baffour Doku
Manchester City vs Aston Villa
De Bruyne sends in yet another corner-kick, and Gvardiol leaps highest to meet it. Once more, City can't find a finish, as his header spins high over the crossbar.
Manchester City vs Aston Villa
CHANCE! Two young guns combine, as O'Reilly crosses low from the left, picking out McAtee's run into the box. However, the latter can't cleanly connect with his shot, which Martinez easily stops.
Manchester City vs Aston Villa
CHANCE! Swivelling to shoot from 20 yards out, Kovacic meets a half-cleared ball by firing through a packed penalty box, but Martinez makes a straightforward stop. Villa then counter at pace, but Rashford prods a tame shot into the side-netting from a tight angle.
Manchester City vs Aston Villa
CLOSE! McAtee almost finds the net with an audacious lob! Played through by De Bruyne on the left, he allows the ball to bounce before trying to beat Martinez with a lofted shot. However, it skips just a few inches wide of the right-hand post! City are getting closer.
Manchester City vs Aston Villa
While both teams will be involved in this weekend's FA Cup semi-finals - which is why this game has been brought forward - they are fully focused on finishing today's clash with maximum points. At the moment, Manchester City seem the likeliest winners, and Opta's live win predictor has their chances at 39% to Villa's 21%.
Manchester City vs Aston Villa
Substitution Matthew Stuart Cash Axel Wilson Arthur Disasi Mhakinis Belho
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