Pep Guardiola's thinking on Man City stars will be revealed by team selection vs Aston Villa

The sight of Kyle Walker and John Stones back in training eased a few City fans’ anxieties for the final day - now the Blues have to hope one, or both, are fit and ready to go. A back four of Walker-Stones-Laporte-Cancelo is a much healthier prospect than one with a patched-up Laporte and stand-in Fernandinho, which escaped West Ham with a point.

Despite being plagued by back four injury issues all season, and depleted by the suspension of Benjamin Mendy, City still have the best defensive record in the league, and that four is as good as they have fielded, with Walker’s pace against the counter-attack especially important.

With a clean bill of health among his attacking players, and the rarity of having a whole week in which to prepare, Guardiola will be picking a front five that he thinks has goals in it, as well as being best-equipped to damage Villa’s defence. But most of all he will be picking those players who have the best big-game mentality, and perform under pressure.

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Looking back on this season, he has tended to pick Gabriel Jesus in such games - both league games with Liverpool, both clashes with Real Madrid - while Riyad Mahrez has proved himself a big-game player more than once.

Phil Foden should also be added to that list, while Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva are shoo-ins. Raheem Sterling does damage but City cannot afford his hit-and-miss finishing in a game where Villa are sure to defend deep and chances might not be too frequent.

The tightness of the title situation has meant that saying farewell to a club legend in Fernandinho has taken a back seat. Clearly, the most appropriate send-off would be to win the Premier League and for the Brazil star to go up