Manchester City host Aston Villa in the Premier League and a match Pep Guardiola called a “final” for his team.

The race for Champions League qualification could not be closer, with fifth-placed City a point ahead of seventh-placed Aston Villa in the table. Just three points separate Nottingham Forest in third with Villa in seventh, with five games to go.

City earned a crucial late win at Everton on Saturday, before Villa thrashed in-form Newcastle 4-1 later in the day for their fifth Premier League win in a row.

It means Unai Emery’s side have beaten Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle before arriving at the Etihad, while they also defeated City earlier this season.

“Villa are a contender to qualify for the Champions League and when you see the game they played against my friend Luis Enrique and PSG I was really impressed,” Guardiola said.

When is Manchester City vs Aston Villa?

The Premier League fixture will kick off at 8pm BST on Tuesday 22 April at the Etihad.

TV channel and live stream

It will be shown on Sky Sports Main Event and Football, with a live stream available for customers on Sky Go or Now TV.

What is the team news?

Ederson may miss out again due to a going injury and Erling Haaland remains out. Manuel Akanji returned off the bench against Everton. Nico O’Reilly should continue after his crucial goal at Goodison.

Ollie Watkins struck against Newcastle on his return to the starting line-up and it would be a surprise to see the striker drop out, but Villa have a huge game on Saturday against Crystal Palace in the FA Cup semi-finals.

Man City vs Aston Villa predicted line-ups

Man City XI: Ortega; Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Gonzalez, Bernardo; Savinho, De Bruyne, Doku; Marmoush

Aston Villa XI: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne; Kamara, Tielemans; Rogers, Asensio, Rashford; Watkins