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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Dan Brown

De Bruyne and Dias start - Man City fans name starting line-up they want to see vs Aston Villa

Manchester City fans have had their say on who should start for the Blues in their Premier League game against Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon, with the Blues having the chance to close the gap on Arsenal.

Pep Guardiola's side suffered a 1-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur last weekend. However, the Blues will still have the chance to cut Arsenal's lead at the top after the Gunners after the league leaders drew 1-1 with Brentford on Saturday.

The game against Villa will be the Blues' first fixture since City were charged with breaking financial fair play rules around 100 times over a nine-year period between 2009 and 2018. During the period, the Blues won the Premier League three times.

ALSO READ: How Man City should line up vs Aston Villa in Premier League

Here's how MEN-reading City fans think the team should line up:

Goalkeeper - Ederson

Unsurprisingly, Blues supporters want to see Brazilian ace Ederson start against Aston Villa on Sunday. The 29-year-old, who has featured in every single Premier League match so far this term, has recorded eight clean sheets this season.

Defenders - Kyle Walker, Aymeric Laporte, Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake

Guardiola opted to play Nathan Ake at centre-back against Antonio Conte's side, with Rico Lewis at left-back. However, City fans want to see the Dutchman return to full-back, while also backing Ruben Dias and Aymeric Laporte to return to the starting line-up against Villa. The duo have fallen down the pecking order this campaign, but many would argue that they are the strongest pairing while John Stones is out injured.

Kyle Walker was asked to play several different roles last weekend and did each well. The England ace has been in and out of the side in recent weeks, but Blue supporters are desperate for the defender to become a regular in the team once again. With Joao Cancelo having left the club to join Bayern Munich on loan, it is vital that Walker is playing for City.

Midfielders - Rodri, Ilkay Gundogan, Kevin De Bruyne

It was an afternoon to forget for Rodri last week, compounded by the abysmal error for the Spurs goal. Despite this, he has still been impressive for City this season and he has missed just one Premier League game this campaign. Regardless of his underwhelming showing in the last match, the Blues certainly look a better side when he is on the pitch.

The decision to start Kevin De Bruyne on the bench against the London outfit did not go down well, especially given that he had been in good form and had registered 15 goal contributions in 19 top-flight matches prior to the game. Understandably, then, he has been backed to come back into the side on Sunday, while Ilkay Gundogan could replace Bernardo Silva, whose last appearance justified his inclusion.

Forwards - Riyad Mahrez, Erling Haaland, Jack Grealish

Erling Haaland was starved of service last weekend, but City fans will be confident that the Norwegian ace will come out firing against Villa. The 22-year-old has scored 31 goals in 28 matches in all competitions this term - and the Premier League golden boot is his to lose. After blanking against Spurs, he will be playing with even more intent.

Meanwhile, Jack Grealish has looked much-improved in recent weeks and has been excellent defensively. While he has still only bagged two goals this term, the England international deserves to be starting for the Blues. On the other wing, Riyad Mahrez has been one of the team's standout performers this term, but will need to be better on Sunday.

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