Aston Villa vs Manchester City. Carabao Cup Final.
Wembley StadiumAttendance82,145.
Watch Aston Villa vs Manchester City on Sunday in the Carabao Cup Final on Sky Sports Football from 3.30pm; Kick-off 4.30pm.
Sunday 1 March 2020 14:51, UK
Man City will hope for a much-needed return to normality on Sunday as they look to keep the flow of silverware strong in the Carabao Cup final against Aston Villa.
City, who have all-but surrendered their Premier League title and have a two-year European ban hanging over their head, will look to do what they do best: win domestic trophies.
Their dominance in this competition in particular is strong, winning for the past two seasons and in four of the last six, and as Pep Guardiola stressed last weekend, City have won seven of the last eight domestic finals, including the Community Shield.
City's treble chances are still strong, and they face an Aston Villa side who can't argue with their underdog tag. Struggling near the bottom of the Premier League, they were beaten 6-1 by this Manchester City side just seven weeks ago, but in Jack Grealish they have one of this season's top performers, and according to the Paul Merson, the "best in England" at the moment.
This is being billed as one of the most one-sided cup finals in recent memory - according to the bookies, there is less chance of Villa winning 1-0 than there is City hitting six without reply - but Grealish's unique style brings hope to the travelling Midlands masses, who are making their fifth Wembley appearance in six seasons.
The 24-year-old will be linked with several top clubs in the summer whether Aston Villa survive or not, but for now his boyhood club need him. On a giant Wembley pitch, on a giant occasion, Villa will put most of the ball through Grealish in the search of their first silverware since 1996.
Here, we run through the views from both clubs, the pundits, the team news, statistics and ways to watch and follow on Sky Sports...
Sky Sports pundit and former Aston Villa midfielder Paul Merson believes Grealish is currently the best player in England, and should go to Euro 2020...
"I think he's England's best player at the moment. He's a phenomenal footballer. I don't see anybody like him in England. They talk about £100m players, all the others, but he is the best player in my opinion.
"Grealish has to be in the next England squad, for sure. For me it's a case of where Gareth Southgate plays him. He probably looks at Grealish and thinks: 'Can I trust him?' and that's because Grealish doesn't hold a position at Aston Villa, he goes and does what he wants, because he has to, because they're not good enough! He plays in a team where he needs to get on the ball, sometimes dropping to get it off the centre-half, and it won't be like that with England."
Jack Grealish goes into Sunday's Carabao Cup final against Manchester City as Aston Villa's captain and golden boy. But it has not always been that way.
He told Sky Sports: "Everything that's happened in my life, good or bad, football-wise has set me up to be the person I am today. I wouldn't change anything.
"Everyone knows I've had a bit of bad press when I was a bit younger, but I wouldn't change it. That's made me who I am today."
Read more from Jack Grealish here
Manager Dean Smith admits he feels more pressure as Aston Villa boss due to his family's history with the club rather than the expectation to stay in the Premier League.
"Being a head coach or manager of Aston Villa, there is always going to be pressure there," he told Sky Sports. "I know (former Villa managers) John Gregory and Brian Little, and spoken to them about the pressures that are there, because there is an expectation about this grand historical football club.
"Being a supporter and having a family base that are all supporters of the club, probably the responsibility of being that leader is a little bit more."
Read more from Dean Smith here
City will go into Sunday's showpiece on a high after their stunning 2-1 win at Real Madrid, but Pep Guardiola has warned against complacency.
He said: "It's much better to go to play a final after a good result in Madrid but we cannot live a final thinking how good we were. I know how difficult it is to reach the final for everyone involved.
"You've done really well to reach it when playing every three or four days. It is a great achievement to get there but now we must try to win."
Guardiola has no concerns about his players' focus; the trip to Wembley is followed by an FA Cup tie against Sheffield Wednesday.
"The night after Madrid we were calm and then Madrid was gone and we were thinking about Aston Villa, and soon we will be thinking about Sheffield Wednesday."
Kevin De Bruyne says Manchester City will go all out for victory in all of the competitions they are in, starting with the Carabao Cup.
He told Sky Sports' Laura Woods: "This club takes every competition seriously. It doesn't matter what competition we play, we play to win it and we've shown that whoever you're playing in this competition, new players and maybe players who play a little less, are there to win the game. The guys have stepped up and done the job brilliantly. Props to having a really good team of 25 players.
"It is the first trophy you can win and it is a trophy. I know people say it's the smallest competition but at least if you don't win anything else, you've won something. There are a lot of players who play a lot of games in their career and haven't won one competition, even the Carabao Cup.
"You have to respect every competition because we play in big games and sometimes against teams from the lower leagues but even then, we show the dedication to do what we need to do as professionals and show that we'll do everything to win this cup."
Read more from Kevin De Bruyne here
Aymeric Laporte will be out for three weeks after injuring his hamstring in the 2-1 win over Real Madrid on Wednesday night.
Nicolas Otamendi should start in his place alongside Fernandinho, while David Silva and Sergio Aguero should also be named in the XI after starting the tie at the Bernabeu on the bench.
Guardiola has other selection dilemmas; whether Joao Cancelo starts over Kyle Walker and whether cup goalkeeper Claudio Bravo starts in goal in place of Ederson.
Aston Villa have selection dilemmas all over the park, starting at goalkeeper, with semi-final hero Orjan Nyland battling it out with Pepe Reina for a spot.
Danny Drinkwater is cup tied, so Marvelous Nakamba is likely to come into the XI, while Conor Hourihane, Trezeguet and Bjorn Engels could all feature.
Smith has confirmed midfielder John McGinn will definitely miss out despite his stringent efforts to return from an ankle injury that he suffered just before Christmas.
Aston Villa vs Manchester City is live on Sky Sports Football from 3.30pm on Sunday; kick-off 4.30pm. You can watch in-game clips in the live match blog on the Sky Sports website and app.
Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly after the final whistle.
It is a great story for Aston Villa having made the final. They know how important it is with their history. There is no point going out there with any fear.
You can see with Aston Villa's shape and how they play; Jack Grealish gets the ball and everyone, including his teammates, is eagerly anticipating what he is going to do, but we have seen constant mistakes defensively from Villa.
Man City were clever in Madrid. Kevin De Bruyne played as the false-nine, while Gabriel Jesus played wide left and sometimes as a left back.
De Bruyne is not a goalscoring machine, but his influence is huge, in terms of his team. Jesus and Sergio Aguero can be off form, while Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez are the same. De Bruyne is predictable: absolute class. The closer to goal he is, the more damage he can cause and the quicker he can do it.
But this is not a one-man team. I imagine Sterling will play, so I think Villa could be stretched too often. Villa must go after it; the defence will sit deep hoping not to be exposed, meaning De Bruyne and Rodri will see more of the ball.
Why not have a plan, not to play openly, but have some shape and organisation where you can get down the wide areas and put crosses in to target the centre-backs. It was an amazing result against Leicester in the semi-final, but I do not see the same happening here.
CHARLIE PREDICTS: 1-4 (14/1 with Sky Bet)
