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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Alex Young

Man City: Pep Guardiola explains why Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne dropped vs Aston Villa

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has explained why he dropped star duo Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne for Wednesday's Premier League home win over Aston Villa.

The pair were surprise absentees from the starting line-up at the Etihad Stadium, with Villa one of the tougher fixtures of the champions' run-in, but a Phil Foden hat-trick made sure City beat a top-five team for the first time this season.

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