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

Manchester City head to Villa Park on Saturday 24th October 2026 for a 12.30pm kick-off, as Pep's... sorry, Enzo Maresca's side look to keep their perfect Premier League start rolling against Aston Villa.

The stakes are high at the top of the table. City sit 1st with a flawless record of seven wins from seven, 21 points and a goal difference of +12, while Arsenal are the closest challengers in 2nd. Villa, by contrast, are down in 12th on 8 points from a mixed campaign of two wins, two draws and three defeats.

Villa arrive in decent domestic and European touch despite their lowly league standing, having won three and drawn one of their last five games overall, including a 6-0 thrashing of Fenerbahce and a 3-1 win over Viking FK in the Champions League, plus a 1-0 away victory over Newcastle in the league. City's own recent form reads W-W-L-W-W across competitions, the only blemish a 4-2 Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, sandwiched between league wins over Liverpool and Ipswich Town and a 5-1 Champions League thrashing of AEK Athens in midweek.

That AEK win was notable for a Phil Foden hat-trick, as reported by BBC Sport (BBC Sport), continuing a rich vein of form that has seen him score four goals in his last two games. The Guardian reports that Maresca has held "honest talks" with Foden to help revitalise his form at City (The Guardian), while ESPN quotes the manager saying it is "my duty" to help Foden rediscover his best level (ESPN).

The headline team news surrounds Erling Haaland. ESPN reports Maresca has confirmed the striker is available for the trip to Villa Park after a fitness scare, with City "hungry" to continue their perfect start (ESPN), and ManCity.com states Maresca says Haaland is "100% available" for the Villa trip (ManCity.com). However, Manchester Evening News suggests the scare serves as a warning City and Maresca must heed (Manchester Evening News), and Sports Mole report that while Haaland is fine, three other City players remain doubtful for the clash (Sports Mole) (Sports Mole) (Manchester Evening News). On the Villa side, Sports Mole have also been assessing how Unai Emery's men might set up, including a decision over Manzambi in the predicted lineup (Sports Mole).

With both sides carrying goals in their locker — City have scored 19 and conceded just 7 in the league, while Villa have scored 7 and shipped 11 — this looks a tough early test for the Premier League leaders at a famously tricky away venue.

Kick-off at Villa Park is 12.30pm UK time on Saturday 24th October 2026.

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.