Man City vs. Aston Villa live score: Premier League result, updates, stats as Guardiola and Emery meet in Champions League 'final'

Manchester City host Aston Villa in the Premier League with UEFA Champions League qualification on the line.

Just a point separates Pep Guardiola's team in fifth and Unai Emery's men in seventh, with five games of the campaign remaining. The top five sides in the Premier League will qualify for Europe's top competition next season.

Both teams contest FA Cup semifinals at Wembley this weekend and victory would move City up to third, while Villa would vault up to fourth, behind Nottingham Forest on goal difference unless they win by an improbable eight-goal margin.

Guardiola described this game as akin to a 'final' and though each side will have four more opportunities to right any wrongs, a defeat tonight would be tough to take.

The Sporting News is following the Man City vs. Aston Villa match live, providing score updates and commentary

Latest live updates | Team news and lineups | Where to watch where you are

Man City vs. Aston Villa score

Venue: Etihad Stadium (Manchester, England)
Referee: Craig Pawson

Keep track of every game and every goal via SN's live Premier League scoreboard

Starting lineups (predicted):

Man City (4-2-3-1, right to left): Ortega (GK) — Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O'Reilly — N. Gonzalez, Gundogan — Silva, Foden, Doku — Marmoush.

Aston Villa (4-2-3-1, right to left): E. Martinez (GK) — A. Garcia, Konsa, Mings, Digne — Onana, Tielemans — Rogers, Asensio, McGinn — Watkins.

Man City vs. Aston Villa live updates, highlights, and commentary

2 hours before kickoff. Hello and welcome to The Sporting News' live coverage of Manchester City vs. Aston Villa in the Premier League, a game that could have huge ramifications for each team's Champions League ambitions.

Man City vs. Aston Villa kick off time

This Premier League match kicks off in Manchester at 8 p.m. local time.

Here's how that time translates across some of the major territories:

Man City vs. Aston Villa lineups, team news

Pep Guardiola has tried this season to stick behind struggling Man City legends Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan, and it finally paid off against Everton as both played well in last weekend's 2-0 win.

Crucially, Manuel Akanji returned from his lengthy injury absence in that game, and could be ready to start at some point in the near future, although he may need a few more cameos off the bench before he regains full 90-minute fitness.

Still sidelined are fellow defenders Nathan Ake and John Stones, while Ederson and Erling Haaland continue to recover from injuries which are likely to keep them out for the next few weeks, although Ederson is probably closer to returning than City's prolific goal scorer.

After playing 88 minutes on Saturday, 33-year-old Kevin de Bruyne may need rest on a quick turnaround and could be replaced by Phil Foden.

Man City predicted XI (4-2-3-1, right to left): Ortega (GK) — Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O'Reilly — N. Gonzalez, Gundogan — Silva, Foden, Doku — Marmoush.

Injured: Ederson (groin), Haaland (ankle), Ake (muscle), Stones (thigh), Rodri (ACL).
Suspended: None.

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Aston Villa have a squad at full, 100% fitness for Unai Emery to pick from. For a club that made a Champions League quarterfinal run to have such a bill of health at this point in the season is truly remarkable.

That means Emery has a number of options to choose from at multiple positions. The most notable decision to make is whether to keep Marcus Rashford, Donyell Malen, and Jacob Ramsey on the bench, or rotate some of them in to replace Morgan Rogers or Marco Asensio. All five players are in good attacking form, including Malen who has scored three Premier League goals in April despite mostly being used as a late substitute.

Emery also has choices in midfield, where there are only usually two spots available for the trio of Youri Tielemans, Boubacar Kamara, and Amadou Onana. The same is true at the back, where Lucas Digne should come back into the side for Ian Maatsen. Andres Garcia has impressed at right-back rotating with Matty Cash, and Axel Disasi has come in occasionally for regular centre-back starters Ezri Konsa and Tyrone Mings.

Aston Villa predicted XI (4-2-3-1, right to left): E. Martinez (GK) — A. Garcia, Konsa, Mings, Digne — Onana, Tielemans — Rogers, Asensio, McGinn — Watkins.

Injured: None.
Suspended: None.

Man City vs. Aston Villa live stream, TV channel

Here's how to watch this Premier League match across selected areas of the world's major regions: