Man City line up vs Aston Villa predicted as John Stones team news call made

Pep Guardiola may have to make an unpopular selection decision as his under-pressure Manchester City side take on Aston Villa this weekend.

City have been rocked by a new injury to Ruben Dias which will keep him out until January, while Ederson is a doubt according to manager Pep Guardiola. Manu Akanji and John Stones are back available, as is Mateo Kovacic, but City will have to decide if they are ready to return at Villa or if they need longer.

The sensible option is to keep Stones on the bench and let Akanji join him, but Guardiola doesn't have that luxury. Even with Rico Lewis back from suspension, Guardiola will still need another defender to come back - unless he wants to keep Matheus Nunes at left-back after his blunders vs Manchester United.

Stones is ahead of Akanji in terms of training so he will have to return even if it is ahead of schedule. Josko Gvardiol can move into the centre alongside him, although it means Kyle Walker continuing, which could be an unpopular decision.

The alternative is Walker playing centrally next to Stones, or a Walker-Stones-Gvardiol back three as Lewis goes forward. It's far from a perfect backline but Guardiola has few other choices.

Mateo Kovacic came off the bench vs United so his return will be welcome, also allowing Ilkay Gundogan to step out of the spotlight.

Kevin De Bruyne remains City's best player when fit so he can continue, and then there is an argument to play Jack Grealish at number eight. That is where he operated in during City's only win since October, and where he excelled for Villa. He's never started for City at Villa Park so why not break a habit and move him into the middle.

Bernardo Silva can play wide where he has done better in recent games, away from the