Aston Villa vs Man City predicted line-ups: Haaland tipped to return as Manzambi remains a doubt

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Erling Haaland returns to our Manchester City predicted line-up against Aston Villa after Enzo Maresca confirmed the striker is available, while Johan Manzambi’s fitness leaves Unai Emery with a decision in attack.

The Premier League fixture kicks off at 12.30pm BST on Saturday 24 October at Villa Park. Both teams below are predictions, with the official starting XIs still to be announced.

Aston Villa predicted XI: Alysson gets the nod

Predicted XI, 4-2-3-1: Zion Suzuki; Matty Cash, Victor Lindelöf, Tyrone Mings, Ian Maatsen; Boubacar Kamara, João Gomes; Alysson, Emiliano Buendía, Ibrahim Mbaye; Nicolas Jackson.

Our prediction gives Alysson another start, with Buendía operating behind Jackson and Mbaye completing the attacking midfield line.

Manzambi is omitted because his availability remains uncertain. That is a selection judgement rather than confirmation that he will miss the match: his absence against Viking did not establish whether he would be ready for City.

The distinction matters for Emery. A fit Manzambi would give him another option centrally, potentially changing Buendía’s position or the combination around Jackson.

As covered in our Villa injury update, Aaron Wan-Bissaka faces a spell out after his injury at Newcastle. Amadou Onana and Matteo Ruggeri also remain sidelined.

Cash is our choice at right-back, allowing Gomes to play alongside Kamara in midfield. Maatsen’s inclusion is more tentative: he has returned to training, but his readiness to start still needs confirming.

If Emery decides against starting Maatsen, Mings offers an alternative at left-back, with Pau Torres an option centrally. John McGinn also remains a contender in the attacking line, so Alysson’s place is far from guaranteed.

Man City predicted XI: Haaland leads the attack

Predicted XI, 4-2-3-1: Gianluigi Donnarumma; Abdukodir Khusanov, Rúben Dias, Marc Guéhi, Joško Gvardiol; Enzo Fernández, Ayyoub Bouaddi; Iliman Ndiaye, Phil Foden, Jérémy Doku; Erling Haaland.

Haaland was an unused substitute against AEK Athens, but Maresca has since confirmed he is “100% available” for the trip to Villa Park, according to City’s official injury update.

That supports predicting his return to the starting XI. It does not settle the rest of the team.

Nico O’Reilly, Matheus Nunes and Mateo Kovačić were still being assessed in that update. Our selection therefore uses Khusanov at right-back and Gvardiol on the left, without assuming either Nunes or O’Reilly will be ready.

Foden gets the central attacking role, with Ndiaye and Doku either side. Bouaddi partners Fernández in our prediction, although Elliot Anderson and Rayan Cherki give Maresca alternatives depending on the balance he wants.

Antoine Semenyo remains unavailable. The remaining attacking places are selection calls, rather than positions settled by the injury list.

The decisions that could change these teams

Villa’s two most significant fitness questions are Manzambi’s availability and whether Maatsen is ready to start. Either answer could alter more than one position.

For City, clearance for Nunes or O’Reilly would change the full-back options. Maresca must also decide how to accommodate his available midfielders and attackers around Haaland.

Our Aston Villa–Manchester City preview covers the wider match context. The fixture is listed for 12.30pm BST in City’s official schedule, with UK broadcast listings also available in our football TV guide.

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