Micah Richards
Former Man City defender

Image source, Getty Images

Jack grew up a fan and he would die for that club, and I think that loyalty is why it has been difficult for him to move on.

He had some off-field issues to deal with too, where I was able to give him advice on his lifestyle because I had made the same mistakes myself.

When you are young, famous and earning quite a lot of money, you can easily find yourself hanging around with the wrong crowd - people who maybe do not have your best interests at heart.

It is hard to keep your feet on the ground, and knuckle down and focus on football in the way you should be doing to in order to push on as a player.

Read more of Micah Richards' column here.

We have players in the tunnel. How are the butterflies lads?

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Manchester City have won the League Cup in four of the last six seasons, including each of the last two; the only team to win it three years in a row are Liverpool, who won it in four consecutive years between 1981 and 1984.

The man pictured - Sergio Aguero - could well prove a handful today as he's scored nine goals in his last five starts against Aston Villa, all in the Premier League, including a hat-trick in a 6-1 win in January.

Image source, .

The last time Aston Villa beat Manchester City came in 2013, when A, externalndreas Weimann hit the winner in a 3-2 triumph. Since then it's typically proven a long day for the Villa, who last their last meeting 6-1.

Pep Guardiola has won 12 of his 13 major finals too.

But remember folks, it's a cup final, so strange things can happen.

Micah Richards
Former Man City defender

Image source, Getty Images

I'm in touch with my old Aston Villa team-mate Jack Grealish on WhatsApp pretty much every day so I will be giving him some stick before Sunday's Carabao Cup final - and joking that I don't want him to turn up this time because he is playing Manchester City.

There is no way that will happen, though. Jack is a big-game player and he is definitely going to put in a performance at Wembley, where the wide-open spaces really suit him.

He was the main man there in last season's Championship play-off final and you could argue that was a bigger moment for him, because it was his chance to get back in the Premier League with Villa.

But this is still a landmark match in his career. He has lost an FA Cup final when he was a teenager, but now he has another chance to land his first major trophy at the age of 24.

Sunday's game is the kind of stage he belongs on and, knowing him like I do, he will relish the occasion and the size of the test that he and Villa face as they try to cause an upset.

Read more of Micah Richards' column here.

Aston Villa boss Dean Smith on switching to a back four: "I just felt we needed to. We have conceded too many chances in the last few games and have toyed with changing back from a back three to a back four."

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola: "I trust all the squad and wanted to make them feel everybody is involved. We had a demanding game in Madrid physically and mentally. A final, everything is unpredictable. I would say as much finals as you play, the more comfortable you are."

Dion Dublin
Former Man Utd striker on BBC Radio 5 Live

Jack Grealish has actually managed the weight on his shoulders very well. Giving him the captaincy was a fantastic move - to captain your hometown club is a big honour and he's taken it on well. I think he's got better.

He's said he feels as though he's grown up, he's a man now. You can see how he's taken Aston Villa forward on his own. The other players know how good he is and they have to respond to his standard of football - I think that's been a problem for them.

Grealish has been a marked man all season - and I think he enjoys that. People are fearing him.

The giant tin foil League Cup trophy (sporting Jack Grealish's face) we told you about earlier on has made it through the turnstiles and into the stadium.

Well done the the guys who folded it into their pocket so neatly...

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester City go into today's Carabao Cup final against Aston Villa at Wembley "starving" for silverware, says manager Pep Guardiola.

City are aiming for a third successive League Cup triumph, having won the competition the previous two years.

"The mentality is the same, to be starving and hungry to win another one," said Guardiola.

"There are no words to express my gratitude to these players. It is so difficult to maintain that hunger."

Right now Sergio Aguero and the Manchester City starting line-up are in a circle warming up. High knees, high kicks, it's all going on. No one wants to slump off at Wembley with an early muscle tweak do they?

Image source, Getty Images

It's the Monday after a 1-1 draw at Leeds United in April 2019, Aston Villa's penultimate Championship game of the season.

Three years since relegation from the Premier League, Villa are guaranteed a place in the play-offs and a local television camera crew is out and about near Birmingham to gauge reaction.

They come across a lady out shopping on the high street. "I'm so proud,"she says beaming into the camera., external"It's fantastic - something he has always wanted to do."

It dawns on the reporter that the lady being interviewed is in fact the mother of Villa boss Dean Smith.

You can read what Smith's mother Hilary had to say and what countless others from his life can recall on the Villa manager in Neil Johnston's fine piece. Just click here.

Right now the nerves are bubbling in the stands and final words can be so important. Imagine the buzz in this changing room. Dean Smith... over to you...

Image source, Aston Villa

While we're talking beats, Manchester City have published this video of a two former defenders bopping in a motor.

Tap your toe or cover your ears. You guys decide...

Like most footballers Jack Grealish likes a bit of Drake but what tune gets him pumped.

Warning: This video contains a bit of Akon.

Right then, let's get this live text kicking on with a few beats.

Stick with me peeps...

I can tell you there has been some drama in the Everton v Manchester United fixture at Goodison Park. VAR came out to play and Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti squared up to the referee after the draw. You can follow that by clicking here.

And we will kick on at Wembley as we move closer to Villa's shot at humbling the big favourites. It's the kind of day where a selfie is obligatory.

Image source, Getty Images

So Aston Villa have just arrived at Wembley and I can tell you they've gone for a risky cup final look.

The suits are crisp but the trousers are cropped. There are ankles showing and instead of shoes, trainers are in use. Where I came from they'd be called daps. Some may brand them a plimsoll.

Either way, they work in this instance for me.

What's your take on the Villa cup final clobber?

Chris Bevan
BBC Sport at Wembley

Image source, BBC Sport

Blue skies above Wembley, where the sun is shining with less than an hour to go until kick-off.

The Villa team have just been out to study the famous turf and soak up some early atmosphere, bringing a noisy reaction from their fans who were already in their seats.

No sign of City yet.

So I make that three changes for Aston Villa from the side beaten by Southampton as Nyland starts in goal, while Engels and Elmohamady get the nod.

I make it eight for Manchester City from the side who won at Real Madrid in midweek as the likes of Aguero, Sterling and Fernandinho return to starting positions.