Manchester City fans are puzzled why Julian Alvarez has been dropped to the bench by Pep Guardiola for the trip to Aston Villa this evening.
A win will take the champions top of the table for the time being, with Arsenal set to play Manchester United on Sunday. City are yet to be beaten in the league this season, the ferocious 3-3 draw with Newcastle being their only blip.
The visitors are the overwhelming favourites against a Villa side bereft of form having gained just three points from their five matches, losing four of them. Erling Haaland is expected to increase his nine-goal tally after recording back-to-back hat-tricks against Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest.
READ MORE: Aston Villa vs Man City LIVE updates and match coverage
However, reacting to the line-up, fans were unimpressed with the decision to drop Alvarez, who scored twice against Forest. Kevin De Bruyne comes in to replace the attacker in an otherwise unchanged starting XI.
Haaland is joined in attack by Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva with Rodri and captain Ilkay Gundogan supporting De Bruyne in midfield. Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, John Stones and Joao Cancelo guard Ederson in goal.
Expressing their bemusement on Twitter, City fans were less than impressed by the omission of Alvarez.
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