Grealish and Doku back, De Bruyne out - Man City predicted line-up vs Aston Villa Manchester City take on Aston Villa in a must-win Premier League clash that could define their Champions League qualification chances. Jack Grealish has started only once for Manchester City in the Premier League in 2025. In the 16 Premier League games since Manchester City lost at Aston Villa before Christmas, Jack Grealish has started just once. At home against now-relegated Leicester City. He has been unused in half of those games, unavailable for two, and a substitute just five times totalling less than an hour between them. His slide down the City pecking order is stark, coupled with a frustrating habit of getting a setback whenever he does actually play. ‌ That Villa game was a frustrating one for City and Grealish. He saw a lot of the ball, touching it more than any other City attacker, crossing more than any teammate and (predictably) attracting more fouls than anyone else. But the City tactics were repetitive that day, moving it right, back to the middle, floated over to Grealish, and then repeat. It took him four months to start another league game, but perhaps the time has come for another start as Pep Guardiola shuffles his pack in a must-win fixture against a Champions League qualification rival. Guardiola clearly thought Grealish would hurt Villa last time and has also trusted him against Real Madrid since, so it isn't a completely unlikely scenario. Guardiola has apologised to Jeremy Doku for not playing him as much as he would like recently so he may be in line for a recall, particularly with Savinho quiet at Everton. Phil Foden scored at Villa Park and is fit again so could come back into a versatile attacking trio behind Omar Marmoush. Both Foden and Grealish can play wide and in the middle while also running past Marmoush - who struggled with Everton's physical defenders at the weekend. Article continues below Mateo Kovacic scored at Goodison Park off the bench and will be fitter than Ilkay Gundogan so he could return to partner Nico Gonzalez, while Kevin De Bruyne may get a rest given the quick turnaround between games. The defence picks itself these days with Josko Gvardiol impressing in his natural central position next to Ruben Dias and Nico O'Reilly scoring in back-to-back games. Matheus Nunes had one of his best games at right-back on Saturday and tends to be preferred against wingers who run in behind him - he will hope to build on that against an in-form Marcus Rashford or Morgan Rogers. Ederson missed the last game with injury and Guardiola couldn't guarantee when he will be back so Stefan Ortega looks likely to continue. ‌ Man City predicted XI vs Aston Villa: Ortega, Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O'Reilly, Gonzalez, Kovacic, Grealish, Doku, Foden, Marmoush ----- Here at the Manchester Evening News, we’re dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester City coverage and analysis. Article continues below Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest City news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe. You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day’s biggest stories. And finally, if you’d rather listen to our expert analysis then make sure to check out our Talking City podcast. Our shows are available on all podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and you can also watch along on YouTube.