Overview
Pep Guardiola will have the first time in his 18-year coaching career to go through two consecutive seasons without winning the national championship.
However, Man City's season is still considered successful as they won a domestic cup double including the FA Cup and the English League Cup, and also finished in second place in the Premier League. The reception of Aston Villa this weekend is therefore of special significance as Etihad will say goodbye to Guardiola.
The Spanish strategist will lead the 593rd match and also the last match as Man City head coach. He officially surpassed Les McDowall's 592-match milestone to become the coach with the longest term in the club's history.
During his time leading Man City, Guardiola won a total of 20 titles, including six Premier League titles. He also has the highest win rate in league history for an official coach, with 268 wins after 378 matches, reaching a rate of 70.9%.
Aston Villa is also one of Guardiola's favorite opponents. Man City has won 10 of their last 14 encounters with the Midlands team, including six consecutive wins at the Etihad with a total score of 17-5.
In fact, Man City has won 19 of their last 20 home matches against Aston Villa in the Premier League, and has won all 15 recent home games since the 0-2 defeat in April 2007. Notably, they scored at least 2 goals in 14 of those 15 victories.
While Man City is preparing to say goodbye to Guardiola, Aston Villa enters the match with excitement after winning the Europa League title.
Unai Emery's team defeated Freiburg 3-0 in the final in Istanbul thanks to goals from Youri Tielemans, Emiliano Buendia and Morgan Rogers. This victory also helped Emery lift his fifth Europa League title in his career - a tournament record.
However, Villa actually won a ticket to the Champions League next season early after a 4-2 victory over Liverpool in the Premier League last week, thereby ensuring a position in the top 5 before the final round.
That helps the Midlands representative enter the away match at Etihad with a fairly comfortable mentality. If Liverpool loses and beats Brentford, Villa may drop to fifth place, but they are still sure to participate in the Champions League in the 2026-2027 season.
Personnel situation
Along with Guardiola, Bernardo Silva and John Stones will also say goodbye to Man City after the last match of the season against Aston Villa.
Bernardo Silva is likely to be given a starting spot and wear the captain's armband on his farewell day at Etihad. Meanwhile, this may also be an opportunity for Guardiola to give more playing time to many other faces when the match is no longer competitive.
On Aston Villa's side, Emery said he will approach the match seriously, although admitting that maintaining concentration after the Europa League championship parade is not easy.
Villa will be without Boubacar Kamara due to a knee injury, while Alysson is also absent due to a groin problem. Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez is likely to be given rest after playing in the Europa League final with a broken finger right from the warm-up.
Expected lineup:
Man City: Trafford, Nunes, Stones, Ake, Ait-Nouri, Rodri, Bernardo, Savinho, Foden, Doku, Marmoush.
Aston Villa: Bizot, Bogarde, Lindelof, Mings, Maatsen, Luiz, Onana, Bailey, Rogers, Sancho, Abraham.
The match between Man City and Aston Villa takes place at 10:00 PM on May 24th (Vietnam time).
