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Manchester City team news with Rodri and Nico Gonzalez doubts and Mateo Kovacic having only just returned to full fitness
Manchester City are riding high just now.
Tuesday night's 2-0 win over Villarreal made it nine games unbeaten in all competitions while Erling Haaland continued his scarcely believable goalscoring form as he netted his 24th goal of an already prolific campaign for club and country.
The Blues are buoyant ahead of the trip to Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon, and will head to the Midlands with extra rest time compared to their opponents who are in Europa League action in the Netherlands on Thursday night with an away tie at Go Ahead Eagles.
Villa have found their form after a difficult start to the season and were deserved winners of the corresponding fixture last season which came during City's winter of discontent when the Blues struggled for results and performances.
Things seem different now. City have a swagger back with Haaland dominant at one end and Gianluigi Donnarumma at the other. The likes of Nico O'Reilly, Phil Foden and Jeremy Doku are in superb form Pep Guardiola is close to being able to call upon a fully fit squad.
There are question marks over the fitness of three players ahead of the game at Villa Park - the problem is two of them play in the same position. Rodri missed the Champions League trip to Spain while Nico Gonzalez was forced off in the second half with a knock.
The prognosis on both is positive but there is no guarantee either will be fit - or risked - to start this weekend, particularly in case of Rodri who has suffered a stop-start season with fitness and injury concerns.
If neither are deemed fit enough to feature, then Mateo Kovacic is in line to come in for his first start of the season. He replaced Gonzalez in midweek and offers a steady hand in the middle of midfield.
But the Croat is also light in match fitness having undergone Achilles surgery over the summer. He's played 37 minutes for City so far this term across two substitute appearances, although he did start for his national side against Gibraltar during the international break.
The 31-year-old would be the perfect fit in the absence of City's Spanish midfield duo, the issue is match fitness.
Guardiola has already spoken about the need to manage Kovacic's return to full fitness and asking too much too soon is a risky proposition.
“Mateo has a special quality — he knows how to keep the ball and brings calm to our midfield,” Guardiola said this week. “But we must not forget he’s coming back from an operation. We need him in top form, and that doesn’t happen overnight. I don’t want him playing several full matches in a row”
The timescale for a return for Rodri and Gonzalez is unclear, and while Kovacic's return to fitness is timely, it also comes with risks of its own.
Guardiola and City will have to tread carefully.
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