[인터풋볼] Reporter Ha Geun-soo = Manchester City, who are challenging for the title for two consecutive seasons, and Aston Villa, led by ‘Kingmaker’ Steven Gerrard, will face off in the final bout.
Manchester City and Villa will face off in Round 38 of the English Premier League (EPL) for the 2021-22 season to be held at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England on the 23rd at 0:00 (Korean time). As of the final round, Manchester City are in 1st place (90 points) and Villa are in 14th place (54 points).
Before the match, the starting lineups for both teams were revealed. Home team Manchester City start with a 4-3-3 formation. Phil Foden, Gabriel Jesus, Riyadh Marez, Bernardo Silva, Rodri, Kevin De Bruyne, Joao Cancelou, Aymeric Laporte, Fernandinho, John Stones and Ederson are in sortie.
The away team will face off in a 4-3-2-1 formation. Olly Watkins, Philippe Coutinho, Emiliano Buendia, Jacob Ramsey, Douglas Ruiz, John McGinn, Luca Digne, Tyrone Mings, Callum Chambers, Mattie Cash and Robin Olsen were included in the starting roster.
Manchester City are on their way to winning the title for the second season in a row and challenging England for the 8th time in their career. If they continue their undefeated streak since last February, they can win on their own, so the situation is still advantageous for Manchester City over Liverpool. Manchester City are going to do their best in this match, as if they miss out on even winning the league title, it will be nothing.
Villa’s director, Steven Gerrard, unintentionally became a ‘kingmaker’. Even for the sake of his former club Liverpool, whom he devoted himself to as a player, he has to catch Manchester City. If they win this match, Villa will be able to jump up to 10th, aiming for Yujong’s beauty.
Meanwhile, in December of last year, the first match between Gerard and Pep Guardiola ended in a 2-1 win for Manchester City. Villa had a decent game despite the fact that Gerrard took over as manager shortly after the sacking of Dean Smith. A lot of attention is focused on the match between the two teams, which are united by their respective motivations.
Photo = Manchester City, Aston Villa SNS