John Stones and Kyle Walker raised Manchester City hopes of a surprise return for the Aston Villa game after training with the squad on Thursday.
Pep Guardiola had ruled the pair, along with fellow defender Ruben Dias, out for the rest of the season following injuries picked up in the final stretch of the season. Stones has not played since the first leg of City's Champions League tie with Real Madrid, and Walker since the second leg.
With three of seven senior defenders unavailable as well as Nathan Ake being not fit to start, Guardiola has seen his side ship three goals in their last two games as central midfielder Fernandinho partnered Aymeric Laporte - including two at West Ham where the Blues dropped two points to add to the excitement of the Premier League title race. Fernandinho and Laporte both picked up injuries at Wolves but played through the pain at West Ham.
