Manchester City

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola spoke to BBC's Match of the Day after his side were beaten by Aston Villa: "We made more than a good game. We started impressive. But afterwards, we lost when they regained the middle of the park. Second half, we adjusted a little bit and controlled more in the middle.

"We made a lot of chances, but unfortunately, we couldn't score. It was the finishing, but overall, the performance I am happy with.

"We performed really well. After we dropped a little, in general, the second half was much better. In general, our game was good."

On Erling Haaland's fitness after colliding with the post: "You'll have to ask him."

Midfielder Bernardo Silva spoke to Sky Sports: "I would say we played quite well with the ball. Our offensive concepts were quite good. Even if we didn't score, we had chances. We made them defend deep, and they struggled in some moments. On the other side of the game, we were really bad defensively. Our pressing was really bad; we arrived two seconds late to every duel. That was the feeling, even though our offensive concepts were quite good, but if the pressing is not good, you allow the game to be a transitional game. When our pressing is not good, we do not play well.

"Obviously, they are a very good team; this is a Champions League team, a team with a lot of quality players. I do believe our defensive concepts were really bad today.

"It's a minor decision, it's not like a penalty or a red card that changed the game. The reality is it should've been a foul. It wasn't, and they scored from the corner. That was a bit frustrating for us, but it's football. These small things are not that important. The referee said he thought it was a corner. People make mistakes, just say sorry and go on to the next one. Don't be arrogant. Like I say, it was not because of that that we lost the game. It was not about the referee today.

"It's still a long way to go. I don't want to draw too many conclusions. We would love to be at the top, but we're not. It's way too early to draw conclusions."

Did you know?

• Pep Guardiola has suffered his 50th Premier League defeat in his 351st game, with only Alex Ferguson taking charge of more matches to reach a half-century of losses in the competition (367).

• City have lost three of their opening nine games in the Premier League this season (W5 D1), with the Cityzens last suffering more defeats at this stage of a league campaign in 2008-09 (four).

Listen to Guardiola on BBC Sounds

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Aston Villa's performance

What did you make of Man City's display?

Come back on Monday for a selection of your replies

Aston Villa make six changes to the side that suffered a shock 2-1 defeat by Go Ahead Eagles in the Europa League on Thursday, with the big guns all returning.

Morgan Rogers, John McGinn, Boubacar Kamara, Lucas Digne, Ezri Konsa and Matty Cash all start.

Jadon Sancho, Evan Guessand, Lamare Bogarde, Ian Maatsen, Tyrone Mings and Victor Lindelof drop out.

Aston Villa XI: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne, McGinn, Onana, Kamara, Rogers, Buendia, Watkins.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola makes three alterations to the side that won in Villarreal during the week.

Oscar Bobb gets a start in place for Jeremy Doku, while Phil Foden and Tijjani Reijnders also come in.

Nico Gonzalez is fit enough for the bench after hobbling off in Spain with a foot issue, while Rico Lewis also drops out.

Man City XI: Donnarumma, Nunes, Stones, Dias, Gvardiol, Reijnders, Silva, Foden, Savinho, Bobb, Haaland.

There are five games in the Premier League on Saturday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Arsenal v Crystal Palace - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Aston Villa v Man City - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

• Bournemouth v Nottingham Forest - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2

• Wolves v Burnley - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 3

• Everton v Tottenham (16:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

Kick-off times 14:00 GMT unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

You can also listen to today's 5 Live Premier League commentaries on most smart speakers. Just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Arsenal v Crystal Palace" or "ask BBC Sounds to play Wolves v Burnley", for instance.

Find out more about how to listen to Premier League football on BBC Sounds

What a phenomenal player Erling Haaland is.

All the Fantasy Football talk at the start of the season was about Haaland versus Mohamed Salah, and on the FPL podcast I do with Alistair Bruce-Ball and Statman Dave, they both said 'Haaland? No chance' and they went with Salah as captain.

Guess what they are doing now? They have copied me and got Haaland as captain, and so has everyone else. It is dull as anything because everyone in the world has done the same.

We are at the stage now where we just expect him to score, the same as he does. He is like my old Blackburn strike partner Alan Shearer in that you just know it will happen.

In fairness to Manchester City, they are more than just a one-man team. Phil Foden is looking sharp again and I love the signing of goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Still, like City, Villa have won their past three league games so this is going to be a tough test for Pep Guardiola's side.

City have lost on their past two visits to Villa Park and, while I don't see them getting turned over this time, they might have to settle for a point.

Sutton's prediction: 1-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Matthew Hobbs
BBC Sport journalist

Manchester City continue their push towards the top of the Premier League table on Sunday against an Aston Villa side who have beaten them on their past two trips to Villa Park.

City may not top the Premier League table but they have won more points than any other side since the start of April (39) and could move level with leaders Arsenal should the Gunners slip up at home to Crystal Palace.

Tuesday's Champions League victory at Villarreal made it seven wins from nine matches (D2) in all competitions for City and central to their surge in form have been the superlative performances of striker Erling Haaland.

The 25-year-old's opening goal on Tuesday was the Norwegian's 24th in just 14 matches for club and country this season.

It followed a double in the 2-0 win against Everton last weekend, which took Haaland to 11 goals in just eight Premier League outings.

It is the third-fastest any Premier League player has reached double figures in a single season - and Haaland himself is responsible for the other two, doing so in five games in 2024-25 and six games in 2022-23.

His record stacks up against the best in Europe this season, while he has also been scoring regularly away from home.

City have scored seven Premier League away goals in total in 2025-26 and Haaland has scored five of those, including at least one in all four fixtures on the road so far.

Only Tottenham Hotspur have prevented Haaland from scoring in the Premier League so far this season and the next side attempting to emulate that feat are Villa.

They are enjoying a resurgent run of Premier League results following a difficult start to this campaign, with three successive wins domestically - although a much-changed line-up were upset by Go Ahead Eagles in the Europa League on Thursday.

Should Unai Emery's side see off City, they will become just the second team in top-flight history to fail to win any of their opening five matches and then triumph in the subsequent four, after Preston in 1936.

Villa have won their past two home league games against City, their best run in this fixture at Villa Park since a sequence of five successive victories between 1960 and 1975 - but managing fatigue could be a factor following Thursday's trip to the Netherlands.

Emery must rely on a squad effort to fight on multiple fronts and Emi Buendia has underlined the importance of making an impact from the bench in recent weeks.

The attacking midfielder's winner at Tottenham last Sunday was his third goal in four matches – two of which have come as a substitute in the Premier League.

It continues a remarkable turnaround for Buendia - a £33m signing in June 2021 - in the West Midlands after missing the entirety of 2023-24 because of injury and spending the second half of last season on loan at Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga.

The 28-year-old started against Go Ahead Eagles in midweek, meaning he could return to a bench role on Sunday - a ploy that has worked well for Emery in recent weeks.

Katie Stafford
BBC Sport journalist

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League game against Aston Villa at Villa Park (kick-off 14:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• He confirmed no sidelined players will recover in time for this game and he has not yet seen medical staff about Nico Gonzalez, who was forced off midweek with a foot injury.

• Defender Abdukodir Khusanov is "close to coming back" but they are not rushing him as it is an "injury in a dangerous part of his body."

• On being nine games unbeaten: "We have good momentum but now it's about the consistency. We need to attack more fluently and play better during 95 minutes. We play good but we can play better."

• He said Premier League champions Liverpool "will be back", despite the outside narrative that they are in crisis, as it is still too early to judge the season. Guardiola added: "I know all the pundits, specialists and former players know everything that is going to happen after five games but I don't. Hopefully we can be there [competing for the Premier League title]."

• On opponents Villa: "My admiration for Unai [Emery] is so high. They are well organised and have quality. [Villa Park] is one of the toughest away games we have in a season."

• He said Matheus Nunes "can be an incredible right-back" and "can be one of the best" if he continues to put the work in.

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

Listen to live commentary of Aston Villa v Manchester City on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra from 14:00 GMT on Sunday

Shamoon Hafez
Manchester City reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Fresh from their Champions League victory in Spain, Manchester City are back in Premier League action on Sunday with a tough trip to Aston Villa.

City are starting to build some momentum, unbeaten in their last nine games, with star striker Erling Haaland continuing to fire.

The Norwegian launched his new YouTube channel this week where he revealed the secrets to his goalscoring form, as well as the enjoyment of having a tomahawk steak on an evening.

Do we reckon Pep Guardiola has had time to watch the first episode? Or does he have other stuff to do with his time?

We'll find out when he faces the cameras this lunchtime.

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your views on the proposed stadium expansion and the introduction of the City Hall bar area in the North Stand, which could force season ticket holders to be relocated.

Here are some of your comments:

Charlie: I think the club gets way too much stick. They've put a load into improving the ground, and all the new bits they're adding show they're actually trying to make it better. People love to say it's all for the tourists, but all that helps us bring in the best players at the end of the day. It looks class, and the new bars are for the premium season ticket lads, which you can't really knock. Different from when they did West. It's not ideal that some fans have to move, but I think the club's handled it better this time. I'm looking forward to seeing it all when it's done.

David: Again, established season ticket holders being asked to move for so-called new fans that only go to matches because of recent success. Where were they 15 years ago? As one of those being asked to move, I remember City saying when we move from Maine Road you would sit with everyone you had made friends with. This is the second time in 15 years I've been asked to move. Seems to be typical of top-flight clubs these days. Loyal fans passed over for new money.

Ian: Four in our family are all affected by this. The email from City says "you will have first choice on any available general admission seat in the Etihad Stadium". Not until the end of the season will we know where these are. Four tickets next to each other on any of the lower tiers seems implausible to me. We have to accept City are a business and increasing revenue is a priority over the feelings of the average fan. Probably won't renew and will watch the games on TV. There are bound to be spare tickets for sale if I do want to take a game as the increased capacity will not sell out.

Aston Villa, AC Milan and West Ham are among the clubs interested in 31-year-old Manchester City and Croatia midfielder Mateo Kovacic. (Caught Offside), external

Want more transfer news? Read Friday's full gossip column

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Shamoon Hafez
Manchester City reporter

Image source, @Erling YouTube

Erling Haaland has been described as a "robot" on the pitch but he has shown his human side off it with the launch of his new YouTube, external channel.

The first episode offers behind-the-scenes access into a full day with the Norway striker, from his physiotherapy at home in the morning and visiting a local farm before training in the afternoon.

Stretches at 9am with Manchester City physio Mario Pafundi allows him loosen up for the day and the secrets to scoring all those goals? "Keeping his groins healthy," according to Haaland.

His house his equipped with a gym, sauna and ice bath, which is "good for the mind" as you are "achieving something you don't want to do".

The 25-year-old explains what he believes are the health benefits on having unpasteurised milk and maple syrup in his coffee, while also showcasing his skills on the barbecue.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA), however, strongly advises against consuming raw milk if you are in a vulnerable group, as it can cause serious food poisoning.

Haaland said living alone at the age of 16 in Norway meant he had to fend for himself and explains why cooking is a "big part of my life".

Tomahawk steaks and short ribs are his go to on an evening, with partner Isabel revealing he also enjoys "kebabs and slow cooked brisket tacos".

Haaland is clearly feeding well both on and off the pitch.

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester City have announced that the expansion of Etihad Stadium's North Stand will add more than 7,000 general admission seats and lead to the availability of 4,000 new "Flexi Season Tickets" stadium-wide.

The expanded stand is set to open before the end of the 2025-26 season, but the news hundreds of supporters behind the goal will have to move seats has drawn criticism.

The introduction of the City Hall bar area in the North Stand - described as "a new experience for around 500 fans on matchdays" - may require some supporters to relocate before the start of the 2026-27 campaign.

What do you make of the changes? Are you directly affected? And is the development worth the relocation of fans?

Get in touch with your views here

Image source, Getty Images

Former Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha says he felt a "sense of helplessness" when he was put into a so-called 'bomb squad' at the club.

Chelsea and Manchester United drew media attention in recent transfer windows for having a number of players training separately and told they do not have a place in the squad.

But this situation is not new, with Onuoha opening up about the difficulties this can bring for a player having had a similar situation under Roberto Mancini at City.

"Looking back, that was the toughest stretch of my career. And that is taking into account things like injury, relegation, all those types of football stresses. But this one was the toughest for me to overcome in some ways," he told BBC World Service Sport's More Than The Score podcast.

"I came through the academy, made my debut for the team, was a ball boy for them, so playing for them was everything for me. I played under a few different managers and everything had been great. It was home, I never thought of leaving – whether that is naive or not, I had never thought about it in those terms.

"What affected me the most was the sense of helplessness that came with it. I found out I was going to be in this group the Saturday before pre-season started on the Monday. I received a text message saying don't come into training on Monday, come in the Saturday and the following Saturday.

"The players that the manager wanted were training Monday through to Friday before flying out on tour on the Saturday. The rest of us were coming in to train with what was a mix of under-16s and under-18s at City.

"From when that message was sent, that was it. There was nothing we could say or we could do. This was your future now."

Ultimately finding his playing time limited and spending a year on loan with Sunderland, then 25-year-old Onuoha moved to Queens Park Rangers permanently in 2012.

"You are just trapped in a position where you are nowhere near doing the thing that you love and the club are saying you need to find an option," he added.

"Someone has made this decision and, until you leave, or for maybe many years to come, you will never know the exact reason why. But, all you will have to do is accept it and that is a tough thing to have to take on board.

"I don't see it changing. For those that go through it, I hope they can find the support for what is probably the toughest time in their career."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Ruth Gregory
BBC Sport journalist

Josko Gvardiol's £77m move to Manchester City from RB Leipzig in August 2023 made him the second-most expensive defender of all time.

But the 23-year-old Croatia international revealed he nearly quit his "dream" career in football when playing for Dinamo Zagreb.

"I was thinking about quitting because I like basketball as well," the centre-back told BBC Sport's Betty Glover.

Aged 16 and struggling to get game time for Zagreb's youth team, Gvardiol considered avenues away from football.

"I wasn't sure in football any more because when you get to the training ground you don't feel happy any more.

"I was just trying to find other solutions and to feel happier than I felt before because all of my friends were playing basketball."

Gvardiol bided his time and broke into the senior team, winning back-to-back titles with Zagreb and signing off with a league and cup double before sealing his move to the Bundesliga for £16m - a record fee for a Croatian teenager.

He impressed in his two seasons in Germany and after 87 appearances for RB Leipzig, Gvardiol signed a five-year deal at Manchester City in 2023.

Harry Maguire is the only defender in world football to have moved for more money, joining Manchester United from Leicester City for £80m in 2019.

"My dream obviously was to become a professional football player, but I didn't know that I was going to go that far," Gvardiol added.

"If you go five years back and ask me, do you see yourself at Manchester City in 2023, '24, '25? I would say no chance, like really impossible."

Read more about Gvardiol's journey here

BBC Sport Champions League pundit and former Manchester United striker Andy Cole praises Erling Haaland's "phenomenal" run of scoring in 12 consecutive games, and believes the "electric" forward needs to be focused on staying in the penalty area.

And watch the best of the action from City's 2-0 victory at Villarreal on Tuesday...

Emily Brobyn
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

Wingers have always been such an exciting part of football. The players with pace, trickery and flair to get fans up off their feet and marvel at tying an opposition full-back up in knots.

For Manchester City in recent times it was Leroy Sane, Raheem Sterling and Riyahd Mahrez that left the Etihad faithful in delight with their goals and assists, touches and talents. Their contributions on the pitch have proved to be a tough act to follow in a City shirt.

Jeremy Doku, now in his third season at the club, looks to finally be showing proof of being a more complete player. The Belgium international's power, pace and dribbling ability has never been denied – it was always his decision-making, composure and control in the final third that needed to be improved. He is a dynamic winger who can bully defenders and he will only continue to improve from here.

But it was his Brazilian counterpart, Savinho, who really came of age in Estadio de la Ceramica.

The 21-year-old had been a summer transfer target for Tottenham - with City turning down a reported £75m to keep him at the club. Such was their faith in the winger, the Blues offered him a deal to extend his contract until 2031 - a leap of faith that looked to be starting to show dividends against Villarreal on a balmy October evening in northern Spain.

Fresh from his assist against Everton, Savinho delivered again - a pre-assist for Erling Haaland's opener, then a cross for Bernardo Silva to head home. Villarreal's full-back Alfonso Pedraza suffered the indignity of being subbed at half-time, such was Savinho's bombardment down the right wing.

A couple of passes did go astray, but this was a dazzling display on the biggest stage in Europe.

It could be argued it was Savinho's best performance in a City shirt yet - and if both wingers can nail down consistency, it will be tough to look past Pep Guardiola's side adding more silverware to their cabinet this season.

Emily Brobyn is regularly on BBC Radio Manchester - find all their Man City audio here

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your views on Manchester City beating Villarreal on Tuesday in the Champions League.

Here are some of your comments:

Harry: Seems we are a team of halves still - we are just yet to figure out if we want that to be the first half or the second. It's a comfortable win away from home against good opposition. I'd rather see consistency than the occasional 4-0 thrashing followed by multiple losses.

Barrie: Getting back to their old form, but City are still lacking regular scorers in addition to Haaland. A small increase in the speed of all-round play would also help.

Gene: A controlled performance made better by winning on the road against a good squad. More missed opportunities seem to be piling up along the way, but the chances are being created along with another clean sheet. Momentum and optimism are building - the opposite of last year.

Mark: Great professional win against a tricky Villarreal side, who City made look ordinary. Erling Haaland is a monster!

Andy: City did enough, just about. Extremely disappointing second half. Why did we stop playing? Reminiscent of the Monaco game.

David: In the first half, City played well, moving the ball around nicely, going forward at every opportunity and of course scoring two well-crafted goals. In the second half, it was a different story. City allowed Villarreal to press on to them, by passing the ball around at the back almost naively. When they did have chances to go forward, they'd stop, turn around and pass the ball back. This is their big problem that needs sorting quickly.

Image source, Getty Images

Former Premier League winger Andros Townsend believes Manchester City have added "more creativity" to feed "robot" striker Erling Haaland.

Haaland scored City's first goal in Tuesday's 2-0 Champions League win at Villarreal, making it 12 games in a row that he has found the net.

"He's an absolute robot," Townsend told BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast. "You put the ball in the box - he's going to get there first and he's going to score. He has done his whole career.

"He scored 22 Premier League goals last season and it was deemed a disappointment. That's the levels he has set.

"With this Manchester City side who have added more creativity after losing Kevin de Bruyne, they seem to be making the chances for Haaland again and obviously he's going to put them away if the ball comes into the box."

Spanish football expert Guillem Ballague also emphasised City's "superiority" in this game, with Pep Guardiola's side recording 66% possession despite ending the match with less shots than their opponent.

"In the first half, especially it was a team that was well structured," he said. "When they didn't have the ball it was difficult to see where Villarreal could hurt them and when they had the ball, they had a lot of options to score.

"But, football is funny. Villarreal hit the bar and had another chance and it could have been like against Juventus with two late goals.

"It didn't happen, partly because there was a superiority from City that Villarreal could not match and the only hope was that everyone fell asleep.

"City deserved what they got."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Manchester City are still owed £12m from Barcelona for Spain forward Ferran Torres, 25, who left Etihad Stadium in December 2021.

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

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