Manchester City will look to stay on top of the Premier League by ensuring Aston Villa’s woes continue in new manager Remi Garde’s first game in charge.
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City have won seven of their last eight games, including a 3-1 success at Seville on Tuesday that saw them into the last 16 of the Champions League.
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The contrast with Sunday’s opponents could therefore hardly be greater ahead of their meeting at Villa Park.
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Villa are bottom of the table after losing their last seven league games — equalling an unwanted club record.
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Former Lyon manager Garde will take charge for the first time on Sunday after replacing Tim Sherwood, sacked following just 28 games in the post, as he looks to secure a first league win for Villa since the opening day of the season.
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It looks like a baptism of fire for the Frenchman but City manager Manuel Pellegrini is expecting a tough match.
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“I don’t know who said it was going to be easy. For me there are no easy games in the Premier League, especially against Aston Villa,” said Pellegrini.
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“They are at the bottom of the table with a new manager so the motivation to try not to be relegated will be high,” the Chilean added. “Always when you have a new manager you have some reaction.
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“It is very important to repeat what we did against Sevilla in Champions League and not to think that because we played well in the last game we can do it in exactly the same way.
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“We can do it if we are concentrated and play with intensity and especially if we understand it will be a tough game.”
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