Premier League: Where to watch Aston Villa vs Manchester City live on September 3, 2021

Topics: TV Schedules, TV Listings, English Premier League, Premier League, Aston Villa, Manchester City

Steven Gerrard remains under heavy pressure to deliver results following a poor start to the new Premier League season.

Aston Villa face a huge test to turn their fortunes around when they welcome Manchester City to Villa Park in the last game of Saturday's round of Premier League fixtures. A dismal start to the season has seen Steven Gerrard coming under massive pressure and, as a result, the need to get back to winning ways is non-negotiable with the future of the former Rangers boss now in doubt.

Since the start of the season, Villa have picked up just three points from five outings and have lost the remaining four games. All their last three matches have ended in losses and have coincidentally come against clubs from London (Crystal Palace, West Ham and Arsenal). In their last outing in which they took on the Gunners, the Villans came close to snatching a point but saw the chance slip away after conceding Gabriel Martineli's eventual winner later in the proceeding.

While the onus lies with the players to turn things around, history suggests that Villa could be headed for another disappointing night in their sixth Premier League game of the season. Since defeating Man City 3-2 in September 2013, they have failed to pick up any win against the Citizens across their last 14 meetings in all competitions.

The above withstanding, Man City will be aiming to capitalize on the struggles of Gerrard's men as they eye a momentary occupation of the top spot. A win will put Pep Guardiola's side a points above leaders Arsenal who travel to Old Trafford for a classic clash with Manchester United on Sunday. The Citizens have made significant strides in their bid to retain the league title for the third successive season, winning four and drawing just one of the games they have featured in so far.

Last weekend, the Etihad outfit hit newly promoted Nottingham Forest for six, with striker Erling Haaland hitting back-to-back hat-tricks. The Norwegian took his take goal tally for the season to nine in only five appearances and will be poised to add to his haul against another struggling side.

Aston Villa vs Man City: Team news

Aston Villa have no new injury concerns with Diego Carlos being the only player absent from the squad. The former Sevilla centrback picked up an achilles injury during pre-season and is still on the treatment table. Meanwhile, Leander Dendoncker and Jan Bednarek both have the chances of making their debuts after signing on deadline day.

For City, this weekend's match trip to Villa will see the return to action of Nathan Ake and Jack Grealish, while Kalvin Phillips is still questionable to go to Villa Park. Since limping off in the charity match against Barcelona, Phillips has missed both of Manchester City's most recent games, while Ake and Grealish haven't played since the 4-0 victory over Bournemouth three weeks ago.

New-boy Manuel Akanji could also be in line to feature in the starting lineup after completing a switch to Etihad on Deadline day.