Unai Emery says Aston Villa will try not to isolate their defenders against Manchester City's in-form wing pairing of Jack Grealish and Riyad Mahrez.
Villa travel to City having seen an upturn in form under Emery - although they did hold the Blues to a draw earlier in the season at Villa Park before Emery's arrival. In a repeat of last season's final day fixture, where City came from 2-0 down to win 3-2 and win the title, Sunday's game also comes under the cloud of the 115 Premier League charges brought against City this week.
Emery, though, is focussing solely on the game, and says stopping two City players will be crucial to Villa's chances of a positive result at the Etihad.
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Highlighting the strengths of former Villa captain Grealish, and his wing partner Mahrez, Emery said: “We are analysing [City] as a team, we are analysing individually and, of course, Grealish... Mahrez… [Erling] Haaland. Every play they have is important. I don't know if they'll make some changes after their last match they lost to Tottenham.
“I know, we have to be careful of them, tactically, thinking of the strategy and, of course, individually as well and to face them as well; being and helping a lot sometimes on the pitch... Not letting them do one-vs-one, especially with Grealish or with Mahrez."
In general, Emery added that he is relishing the chance for Villa to show their qualities at City, urging his side to be clinical when they do get chances in the game.
“We will have to defend, of course. We have to work, thinking and defensively we have to be strong and committed," he said. "Our attitude will be great in our players' minds. When we have moments to attack and keep ball possession we will try to impose ourselves. We will try and have our chances and take possibilities to win. But, thinking 90 minutes to win, it's going to be a long match and a match that we will defend strongly on Sunday.”
“I like playing against the best coaches, the best players, the best teams. The Premier League is very difficult. We are seeing the teams in the bottom trying to sign players to escape from the bottom but it is very difficult to get the best performance to get the best result.
“Look at last week Everton beat Arsenal. I know each game is going to be hard and a big challenge. I want to enjoy each moment and show our capacity. I want to make more experiences here and to play against the best coaches like on Sunday against Pep.”
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