Aston Villa v Manchester City preview: kick-off time, team news and form

Aston Villa host Manchester City at Villa Park on Saturday 24th October 2026, with kick-off at 12.30pm UK time in the Premier League.

It's a huge test for Villa, who sit 12th in the table on eight points from seven games, having won two, drawn two and lost three. Manchester City, by contrast, are flying at the top of the division with a perfect record of seven wins from seven, 21 points on the board and a goal difference of plus 12 compared to Villa's minus four.

Villa's recent form reads DWWDW, including a Champions League win over Viking FK and a league victory, so there are definitely signs of life under Unai Emery even if the overall league position doesn't yet reflect it. City's form is DWLWW, with their only blemish in that run a Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, while in the Premier League they remain unbeaten and full of confidence following wins over sides including Ipswich Town.

Emery has been giving regular updates on his squad this week. Birmingham Live reports he has spoken about "Man City rule breaking" and sent a 'message' to his players ahead of the game, as well as discussing Youri Tielemans and praising Garnacho and Barkley's recent form following the win over Viking (Birmingham Live) (Birmingham Live) (Birmingham Live). Sports Mole adds that Emery admits some of his players may have "some pain" to play through against City (Sports Mole).

The main injury concern for Villa surrounds Johan Manzambi, who missed the midweek Champions League win over Viking as he continues his recovery, according to the Express & Star (Express & Star). Birmingham Live, Sports Mole and talkSPORT have all carried fitness updates on the midfielder this week, with his availability for the City game still described as a doubt heading into the weekend (Birmingham Live) (Sports Mole) (Birmingham Live) (talkSPORT). Villa also have selection calls to make elsewhere, with Birmingham Live noting an "Alysson option" among the dilemmas facing Emery for his starting XI (Birmingham Live).

For City, talkSPORT reports that Erling Haaland is "100 per cent available" to start after being rested in City's midweek Champions League win over AEK Athens, having been a doubt following a knock picked up against Ipswich Town (talkSPORT) (Birmingham Live). His return to full fitness will be a major boost for Pep Guardiola's side as they look to maintain their 100 per cent league record.

You can follow all the action from Villa Park when the two sides kick off at 12.30pm on Saturday 24th October.

Written with the help of AI, using the match facts and the headlines from the publishers credited above. Each point links to the original report — tap the source name to read it in full.