Remi Garde
Remi Garde became Aston Villa manager in November Getty Images

Aston Villa host Manchester City in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Saturday, 30 January as the Villans look for some inspiration in what has been a depressing Premier League campaign thus far. The Citizens look strong, having already progressed into the final of the Capital One Cup.

Where to Watch

Kick-off is set for 3pm GMT. Highlights of the game will be on BBC Match of the Day on BBC One at 10:30pm GMT.

Overview

Villa have hit good form, unbeaten in their last five games in all competitions, overcoming Crystal Palace and Wycombe Wanderers, a League Two side, whom they had to take on in a replay in order to progress to the next round. Manager Remi Garde will take some comfort from his side's stalemate against City in the league but will be aware that they have a bigger task at hand.

Villa have yet to make any signings in the January transfer window despite letting five players leave and it is believed that the seeds have been planted for a busy last few days in a bid to rejuvenate their season. Villa are currently 10 points adrift of safety and have to start putting in their best foot forward.

Meanwhile, City will be upbeat after their performance against Everton which saw them progress into the final of the League Cup. However, an injury to Kevin de Bruyne will see the Belgian miss up to 10 weeks, giving a massive blow to their title hopes.

The Citizens are currently second in the league, three points behind leaders Leicester and level on points with Arsenal. Their last game in the league ended in a two-all draw with West Ham, with a brace from Sergio Aguero saving them the blushes, having gone behind on both occasions.

What the managers say

Remi Garde: "The game against Manchester City is a big opportunity for us. We are in a good moment. We lack a bit of confidence in front of goal, but I'm pleased we're not conceding too many goals. That's important."

Manuel Pellegrini: "[On winning the Quadruple] It's not a target that we have in mind at the moment because it is not a realistic target. We have to play against Aston Villa tomorrow. If we fail tomorrow, we finish talking about that. If we continue in the FA Cup, if you want to arrive to the final we have at least two [Premier League] games more suspended so it's difficult if you continue in the Champions League to find a day where you can play all those games. But that doesn't matter. We are going to have our mind tomorrow in continuing in the FA Cup."

Betting Odds (888Sport)

  • Aston Villa Win: 4/1
  • Draw: 29/10
  • Manchester City Win: 5/7

Team News

Aston Villa

Possible XI: Guzan; Richards, Okore, Clark, Richardson; Bacuna, Veretout, Westwood, Grealish; Sinclair, Kozak

Arsenal

Possible XI: Caballero; Zabaleta, Otamendi, Demichelis, Clichy; Fernando, Delph; Navas, Iheanacho, Sterling

Manchester City FC