Aston Villa are in midweek Premier League action as Unai Emery's men travel to reigning champions and current title challengers Manchester City on Wednesday night.
Buoyant after a 2-0 victory over local rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday, the Villans will be keen to cause an upset at the Etihad Stadium. Even a draw would be a strong return as the gap to game-in-hand holders Tottenham Hotspur is three points before Spurs' clash at West Ham United on Tuesday.
Villa will know the result of that game around 22 hours before they kick off, either way adding more pressure to what could be a vital encounter in Manchester. Pep Guardiola's side, in third, will be just as desperate for a strong result with Liverpool and Arsenal three and two points ahead respectively.
Ollie Watkins stole the headlines on Saturday despite only playing 45 minutes as the England international suffered a hamstring injury. Villa have assessed their number 11 but there's yet to be an update. With Watkins' problem in mind, here's how we predict the men in claret and blue will line up at City.
1. GK - Emi Martinez
Martinez’s composure and confidence shone through on Saturday as he helped Villa to a clean sheet. The Argentine will be keen to stop City from scoring too, as difficult as that sounds.
2. RB - Ezri Konsa
Konsa, a scorer last time out an England debutant over the international break, will be keen to keep progressing. Matty Cash, meanwhile, is sidelined for several weeks.
3. CB - Diego Carlos
Carlos didn’t have his best game at the weekend but that was to be expected with game time irregular of late. The Brazilian needs to step up at the Etihad.
4. CB - Pau Torres
Pau has been the dream left-sided centre-half Emery promised. The Spaniard is built for the big games and this is no exception.