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Manchester City fans think their title hopes will hit a brick wall against Aston Villa after Pep Guardiola decided to bench Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne.
The Cityzens host Villa at the Etihad tonight (April 3) and will be wary of Unai Emery's high-flying Villains. They suffered a 1-0 loss at Villa Park (December 6), and they've been unbeaten in 23 games across competitions since then.
However, Guardiola has opted to rest Haaland and De Bruyne as he tries to juggle Manchester City's grueling schedule. The reigning champions head to Crystal Palace in the league on Saturday (April 6). They then clash with Real Madrid three days later in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarterfinal.
Haaland, 23, has been a revelation since arriving at the Etihad in July 2022. The Norweigan frontman is the Premier League's top scorer with 18 goals in 24 games.
However, the former Borussia Dortmund striker came in for criticism after City's 0-0 draw with Arsenal (March 31). Many felt he didn't contribute enough in the game and Roy Keane even labelled him a 'League Two' player.
Meanwhile, De Bruyne returned from a long-term hamstring injury in January and immediately excelled. The Belgian playmaker managed four assists and one goal in his first five league games since returning.
However, the 32-year-old has somewhat come off the boil as of late. He was subbed off early into the second half of a 1-1 draw with Liverpool (March 10).
Guardiola will be eager for the duo to be in top-notch condition against Madrid next week. That might explain the Spanish tactician's decision not to start them as they're both named on the bench.
Stefan Ortega starts in goal, with Rico Lewis, Manuel Akanji, Ruben Dias, and Josko Gvardiol in defense.
Rodri, Bernardo Silva, and Phil Foden are in midfield, with Jeremy Doku and Jack Grealish joining Julian Alvarez in attack.
One fan doesn't have much hope about Manchester City's chances against Villa:
"It's so over LOL... I'll wait for the CL game."
Another fan was bemused by Guardiola's changes:
"De Bruyne and Haaland ain't starting - what's going on?"
Here's how fans on X (formerly Twitter) reacted to Manchester City's XI to face fourth-placed Villa:
Pep Guardiola hit back at Roy Keane's criticism of Manchester City's Erling Haaland
Guardiola didn't take too kindly to Keane's comments about Haaland's overall game nearly befitting that of a "League Two player". The City boss launched a staunch defense of the Norway international (via Sky Sports):
"I do not agree with him, absolutely not. He's a manager for the second or third league? I don't think so."
Haaland struggled in Manchester City's draw at home to Arsenal last Sunday. He was kept quiet by William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes but missed one golden opportunity.
Guardiola was adamant that Haaland is the best striker in the world:
"He's the best striker in the world and he helped us win what we won last season. The reason why we didn't create many chances (against Arsenal) was not Erling, it's that we need more presence in the final third with more people."
Haaland won the Premier League's Golden Boot last season with 36 goals in 35 games. The Norweigan also finished top of the Champions League's goalscoring charts with 12 goals in 11 games.
