Manchester City

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We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Aston Villa and Manchester City.

Here are some of your comments:

Villa fans

Clive: A solid performance and a structure that worked well. We were patient in defence and fast in attack. Excellent all-round throughout the game. We deserved a clean sheet and only a stumble on the ball gave them the goal.

Kit: Villa were outstanding in possession. Their ability to hold off tackles and run with the ball is what undid Manchester City. Rogers was the prime example of going past players to keep attacks in midfield and around City's box. It was like watching a class Real Madrid team. A fantastic game in which City had no answer and were second-class from start to finish.

Tony: Brilliant display. Kamara is so important for us. Onana gave us a rock-solid platform in central midfield. Tielemans pulled the strings in a more advanced number 10 role.

Mark: The best Villa performance of the season. Rogers and Duran are a formidable pairing up front.

Colin: We have seen Villa play like this before. As Emery says, consistency counts. If we maintain this, top four is guaranteed. City weren't so poor but they were simply outplayed by a team of underrated players. City will recover, but Villa can finish above them this season. A good feeling!

City fans

Anton: After nine years, teams have worked out a simple way to beat Manchester City's press and high line. After five defeats, Guardiola said it was up to him to find a solution - which he hasn't done. More plan A isn't working. In the past five years, City's build-up play has got slower and slower. The signs were there last season when Haaland had a goal drought.

Tony: Erling Haaland contributes almost nothing to City. He only scores when the opportunity is given to him on a plate. He does nothing to help the team defend, even in midfield. City may as well play most of their games with nine outfield players.

Steve: Sadly, age has caught up with the bulk of this team and it is a constant cycle of recurring injuries. We definitely need some fresh legs in the January transfer window. The only thing that really disappoints me are so-called City fans questioning Pep. There is nobody I would rather have looking to get us through this tough patch than him.

John: Disgusting from the players, no fight or passion. The club and Pep are to blame for this situation. It is bad management from Pep, allowing players to leave and not replacing them with quality. This is a dead season now and I can't wait for it to be over.

Gary Lineker introduces highlights and analysis from Saturday's five Premier League fixtures, including Manchester City's visit to Aston Villa and the London derby between Arsenal and Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• West Ham 1-1 Brighton

• Crystal Palace 1-5 Arsenal

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Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has been speaking to TNT Sports following the defeat: "We made a really good first-half. Second-half, we dropped. We changed our pressing for the reason that John [Stones] could not continue. Congratulations Aston Villa, and we keep going."

On whether John Stones couldn't continue because of his previous injury: "Yeah."

On their opponents Aston Villa: "In the mid-block, they are so strong. We had good moments. We had chances, more chances than in the [Manchester] United game but, in the second-half, we dropped and our pressing was not good enough.

"We struggled a little bit and we could not drop them well. We found a goal in the end, but too late. We struggle to score and we concede goals."

On goalscorer Phil Foden: "The last one or two games, he has been better. Most of the players have had problems. Sometimes the next season is not the same, the people change and the situation changes."

On the team getting their confidence back: "Step by step. We have nice personalities in the team and, sooner or later, we are going to find it."

On whether he has to change his approach moving forward: "Yeah, I have to do it. I back my players, that is what will be different."

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Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has been speaking to TNT Sports following the disappointing defeat: "It's a couple of minutes since the game, so not a lot [has been said]. But, of course, we are disappointed. It is not good enough. It is not good enough from me."

On how Aston Villa played: "They are good players. It's difficult to come here but we are Manchester City, we should be out there. We have to continue, we have to believe and we have to keep working hard. We have to continue.

"First, I'm looking at myself. I haven't been doing things good enough. I haven't been scoring my chances. I have to do better. I haven't been good enough."

On their current confidence levels: "Of course, not the best. We know how important confidence is and you can see that it affects every human being. That is how it is. We have to continue and stay positive, even though it is difficult."

On manager Pep Guardiola: "He won the Premier League six times in seven years, so we will never forget that. He will find the solutions. He has been doing that every single year.

"We still believe in him. We have to work harder than ever right now."

On what Guardiola said to him in the tunnel: "It is the small details, I don't remember right now. I'm thinking we just lost a game, another one. I don't remember, but it was probably some small instructions to do things better."

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Manchester City have already lost nine games in all competitions this season. Only in 2019-20 (12) and 2016-17 (10) has a side managed by Pep Guardiola lost more matches in a season (both with Manchester City).

They are also without a win in five consecutive Premier League away games (D1 L4) for the first time under Pep Guardiola, last failing to win more consecutive away matches in December 2015 (6) under Manuel Pellegrini.

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Aston Villa's performance

What did you make of Man City's display?

Come back to this page on Monday to find a selection of your replies

There are 10 Premier League teams in action on Saturday:

• Aston Villa v Manchester City (12:30)

• Brentford v Nottingham Forest

• Ipswich v Newcastle

• West Ham v Brighton - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Crystal Palace v Arsenal (17:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

All kick-off times 15:00 GMT unless stated

Follow all the action and reaction here

Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, against a variety of guests.

For week 17, he takes on Reverend & the Makers singer Jon McClure.

Sutton's prediction: 1-1

Aston Villa are 10 points worse off than the same stage of last season, when they were in second place with 35 points from 16 games.

This time, they are seventh and if you look at their results in the Premier League so far then, apart from when they saw off Fulham in October, they have only beaten teams in the bottom half of the table.

I don't want to call them flat-track bullies but they are only getting wins against the weaker teams.

Maybe we have to put Manchester City in that bracket too at the moment, though?

In terms of form over the past eight games then only Leicester and Southampton have picked up fewer points than Pep Guardiola's side.

I keep thinking they will kick back into life, but they actually seem to be getting worse. Everyone is trying to come up with the reason for their poor results - injuries or ageing players, and so on - but they are making basic errors in games and killing themselves.

The smart move for me and anyone else making predictions would be to just back City every week now, because eventually they will come good - but I've not seen anything to suggest it will happen here.

The only thing they won last weekend was 'The Simulation Game' on 606 thanks to Kyle Walker's behaviour against Manchester United. I just hope he is all right to play this weekend.

So, I am certainly not going to say they will win at Villa Park, or keep a clean sheet, but then Villa have not really convinced me to back them either.

McClure's prediction: 2-1

I can't see past Villa here - I don't know where City's next win is going to come from. Even Sheffield Wednesday [who McClure supports] would give them a game at the minute.

Read the full predictions and have your say

Sarah Rendell
BBC Sport journalist

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Aston Villa (kick-off 12:30 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Key defender Ruben Dias will miss the Christmas period: "[He will be out for] three or four weeks. It was a muscular injury. [After] 75 minutes against Manchester United, he felt something. He is so strong and he stayed on the pitch and now he is injured."

• Fellow defenders on Manuel Akanji and John Stones: "Manu and John are back training over the past two days, which is good for us." Guardiola added he is unsure if they will be able to start on Saturday.

• Guardiola does not think any players will leave during the winter transfer window. However, he was uncertain about the future of players whose contracts expire next summer: "I don't know - that will be at the end of the season. At the end of the season, we will see the situation. What I want is my players back [from injury]. My feeling is the squad is really good - it is not if they are good or bad players. We lost two important figures for a while. At the end of the season the club and myself will decide what is best for the team"

• On handling tough times: "I handle the good moments - I handle good the bad moments. I have had bad ones in my career as a manager but we were able to come back and now it takes longer. I take experience with that. I have had 40 days of bad days in terms of results. That is the truth when you compare to eight years which is much better. There have been eight years of incredible [results] and now we have 40-45 days of [bad results]."

• On his mood: "I am fine. I am a normal person with feelings like all of us. When a situation is going well, we are better and when it is not going well professionally, we are more [focused] on what we have to do."

• On if he learned anything from City's loss last time they played at Villa Park: "When they came back here, we beat them 4-1. [Do] you have to analyse all the times we drop or lose points? We win more than we lose. Of course we lost there - they were better by far. They came here - we were better. Why do you have to compare what happened there? The past is the past. This is a new moment [and] you have to deal with it."

• On how well Villa have balanced Premier League and Champions League commitments this season: "I'm not surprised. Top, excellent manager. [They had good success] qualifying for the Champions League and the results in the Champions League speak for themselves. They are handling it well because when I have been in many clubs handling both competitions, they have done really well."

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

It is almost Christmas so the latest episode of You'll Never Beat Kyle Walker dives into what the festive season is like for a footballer.

How much are they allowed to eat on Christmas Day?

Which manager was a bit of a Scrooge?

And what gift should you buy for a footballer?

Listen to the full episode now on BBC Sounds

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Manchester City have had more shots than any other side in the Premier League this season (282).

However, their shot conversion rate is just 9.9%, their lowest in a single campaign since 2006-07 (6.4%).

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The thing that concerns me the most is not the fact that Manchester City are not winning games - it is that they are losing so many games.

They should have enough steel and experience to handle difficult moments in football matches and make sure they leave games with something, even after mistakes.

You can start an unbeaten run by drawing games but it is defeat after defeat. You expect a collapse and the team's anxiety when things get tough is now warranted.

That shows where they are with confidence. If it was young players out there making mistakes, you would understand but it is experienced, international players who are not playing their best football but you would still expect them to handle things better.

Some of the goals they are conceding are the worst I have ever seen from City.

To be 1-0 up with minutes left in the Manchester derby, concede via an error, and then fail to see out a point is hugely disappointing.

City fans will remember that disappointing result more than any other in this period. The hope is that this was rock bottom and, with players returning, they can now start to find a way back.

Pep Guardiola is in a funny position where he knows he needs to try and break a run that he has never been on before - and yet he does not know how to do it.

It is more stressful from his perspective because it is coming down to individual errors. I should not say it but I feel bad for him.

It is part of his process and this is his biggest test as a manager. He needs to not just give his team tactics, he needs to give them belief.

Nedum Onuoha was speaking to BBC Sport's Nat Hayward

Manchester City are interested in Crystal Palace and England defender Marc Guehi, with the 24-year-old seen as a player who could be part of a backline overhaul. (Football Insider), external

City are also considering a move for 20-year-old Brighton and Republic of Ireland striker Evan Ferguson, who has fallen out of favour at Amex Stadium, after scoring just one goal this season. (GiveMeSport via Caught Offside), external

Finally, City, Liverpool and Tottenham are interested in 22-year-old Real Valladolid and Spain winger Raul Moro, who may be available for between 4-10m euros. (Sport - in Spanish), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

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Throughout Wednesday, we've been asking former Manchester City star Georgi Kinkladze about his time as a professional footballer.

In this final part, he reflects on the end of his time as a footballer and considers the modern iteration of City.

Do you have any regrets from your career?

Kinkladze: I don't know - maybe. I can't say right now.

How about with the Georgia national team given you didn't quite make it to a major tournament?

Kinkladze: The national team at that time had some very, very talented players. But in the 1990s we played against teams like England, Italy, France and Spain. Everybody was a world or European champion. We just passed our time.

But the national team qualified for Euro 2024 and it was unbelievable. They lifted the whole country because Georgia is a football country. When they qualified against Greece, I have never seen so many grown men cry. Thirty years they waited - and they did it. I drank cha-cha [Georgian spirit] all day to celebrate!

Do you have any advice for younger players, things you learned from your career?

Kinkladze: You have to work hard. If you have talent, but you don't work hard then you won't make it, because hard work always beats talent. They give everything they have every day to reach a high level.

Do you wish you worked harder during your career?

Kinkladze: Yes, probably. But that's life! When you finish your career you think about if you could have done more, worked harder, but it's too late. So that's why I tell young players to work hard, because football is a short career. You never know what might happen with injuries.

Maybe you play well, then another coach comes in and changes tactics, and you don't fit in anymore. Anything can happen. So they have to give 100% always.

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Zahed: Which City player from the Guardiola era would you like to have played with?

Kinkladze All of them, they are amazing. But my favourite player is David Silva, followed by Kevin de Bruyne and Sergio Aguero.

Why David Silva? Reckon you could swap for one game?

Kinkladze: He played similar football to me. He was left-footed and carried the ball with good vision.

We could play together but it would be better if we played together in a Guardiola system. He is the best coach in the world. He's proven everything - in Barcelona, Munich and now here.

Is the 'off-the-cuff' playmaker dying a death?

Kinkladze: There aren't any playmakers anymore. Most teams play with a 4-3-3 system. During my time in England especially, teams played 4-4-2. But I always played like a playmaker.

What do City need to do to get out of their current rut?

Kinkladze: They have missed very big players like Rodri and De Bruyne. But this is football - you can't win every game. The most important thing is that they are fighting to win.