Manchester City will be hoping to end their season on a high when they host Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday at 4pm.
The Citizens have missed out on the Premier League title after their draw with Bournemouth in midweek. It means they’ll end the season with just the FA Cup and Carabao Cup, alongside their second-placed finish.
Man City predicted lineup vs Aston Villa
Man City (4-1-4-1): Donnarumma; Nunes, Stones, Dias, Gvardiol; Rodri; Semenyo, Silva, Cherki, Savinho; Marmoush.
This game will be important, though, as it will be Pep Guardiola’s last in charge of Man City. The Catalan made the announcement on Friday that he will be leaving Man City after 10 years in charge.
Man City team news vs Aston Villa
The final day of a Premier League season is always a strange one. It’s sometimes a chance for fringe players to get game time, especially when a team has nothing to aim for.
So we may see a rotated Man City side, especially as the Citizens have no injury issues. Bernardo Silva is likely to start as captain of the side on his final Man City appearance. It will allow him to lead the line, and get a standing ovation in being substituted off.
The same honour — minus the captaincy — may be afforded to John Stones, who will also leave Man City this summer. It might be a chance for Stones and Ruben Dias to start together one final time at the heart of Man City’s defence. Matheus Nunes and Josko Gvardiol could complete the defence, with Nico O’Reilly given a rest.
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Rayan Cherki started on the bench in the draw with Bournemouth in midweek, but he may return to the starting XI to give Man City fans some excitement. This may be a chance for Savinho to stretch his legs on the wing, with Antoine Semenyo also featuring.
Erling Haaland looks to have the Golden Boot wrapped up, unless Igor Thiago scores six more goals than him this weekend. So the Norwegian may be rested, and a starting chance given to Omar Marmoush.
Nico Gonzalez is another who may be hoping for a start in a rotated XI. He hasn’t been in Man City’s last two matchday squads, but hasn’t been injured. Rodri could be dropped to the bench to rest.
Pep Guardiola says farewell
With the title gone, there is only one focus for Man City: the departure of Pep Guardiola.
Guardiola was named Man City manager in February 2016, though fans had to wait until the summer for him to take the job, replacing Manuel Pellegrini in the summer. He missed out on the Premier League title in his first campaign, finishing third. It was also the first campaign of his managerial career in which Guardiola failed to win a trophy. He leaves Man City having only had one more season without a major trophy, falling in 2024-25.
Across his 10-year spell at Man City, Guardiola has changed English football. He’s overseen Man City’s domination of the Premier League, winning six league titles, as well as three FA Cups and five Carabao Cups. Man City have also won the Champions League under Guardiola, lifting the trophy in 2022-23 having reached their first-ever final in 2020-21.
He made Man City just the second English men’s team to win the Treble, doing so in 2022-23, and the only team to hit 100 points in Premier League history. And they’re the only men’s club to win England’s top-flight in four consecutive seasons.
The game against Aston Villa will be Guardiola’s 593rd as Man City manager, and the stats are out of this world. He’s won 416 matches for an incredibly win percentage of 70.27%. Including Super Cups and other minor trophies, Man City will average a trophy every 29.65 games under Guardiola.