Manchester City travel to face Aston Villa in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon and Nathan Ake could feature after recovering from a knock. John Stones has partnered Ruben Dias in his absence without cover on the bench, but Pep Guardiola will now have four centre-backs at their disposal.
Guardiola revealed in Friday’s pre-match press conference that the 27-year-old has trained well ahead of the weekend clash at Villa Park and should make the matchday squad as a result. New-signing Manuel Akanji could be named among the substitutes too, having been acquired to deputise for Aymeric Laporte.
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Pep said about Ake: “Nathan and trained yesterday and trained really well,” so he should make the squad. But despite being in good form prior to the injury, it’s unlikely Ake will start ahead of Dias or Stones. He should make the bench and then be forced to earn his place back in the starting eleven.
Ake has made four appearances in all competitions this season, amassing 291 minutes of football. He nearly left over the summer when Chelsea showed an interest but ended up staying and was briefly a regular in the starting lineup.
Now, the Dutch international will have to wrestle his spot back. Aymeric Laporte returning from injury in the coming weeks will present another challenge.
City could have five fit centre-backs by October and only two will get the nod, so competition is fierce.
In other news, here’s every player signed and sold by Man City this summer