City make four changes as Maatsen returns for Villa
City make four changes for their trip to Villa, where Ian Maatsen returns from injury and Unai Emery also restores Manzambi, Kamara and Cash.
· Kickhell
Updated Oct 26, 2026
Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca has made four changes to his starting eleven for Saturday's Premier League visit to Aston Villa, with Erling Haaland, Marc Guéhi, Jérémy Doku and Iliman Ndiaye all returning to the lineup.
Phil Foden and Rico Lewis drop to the bench from the side that beat AEK Athens 5-1 in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday. Allan and Floyd Samba are absent from the matchday squad entirely.
Antoine Semenyo remains unavailable as he continues to recover from the injury he sustained in last weekend's 3-2 Premier League win over Ipswich Town.
Gianluigi Donnarumma starts in goal behind a back four of Abdukodir Khusanov, skipper Rúben Dias, Guéhi and Joško Gvardiol. Elliot Anderson, Enzo Fernández and Rayan Cherki will operate in midfield, with Haaland leading the attack and Ndiaye and Doku providing width.
Villa have also made four changes for the meeting with the league leaders. Ian Maatsen returns after an injury kept him out since the draw with Nottingham Forest, while Johan Manzambi is fit to start after limping off against Newcastle. Boubacar Kamara and Matty Cash also come back into the starting lineup.
Tyrone Mings, Ross Barkley, Emi Buendía and Ibrahim Mbaye drop to the bench. Villa sit 12th with eight points from seven matches heading into the fixture.
City head to Villa Park with a perfect seven wins from seven in the Premier League this season. A victory in Birmingham would give the club their longest winning run at the start of a top-flight season, surpassing the record of seven successive wins set at the beginning of the 1897/98 campaign.
Haaland has scored eight Premier League goals this season, the most of any player in the division. The Norwegian has also had more shots (27) and shots on target (13) than any other player in the league so far.
