- Unai Emery has made eights changes to his Aston Villa side to take on Manchester City
- Victor Lindelöf, Emi Buendía and Ollie Watkins are the only three to remain from the Europa League final starting lineup
- Manchester City have made nine changes
Unai Emery has made eight changes to his Aston Villa side after their Europa League win on Wednesday night. Victor Lindelöf, Emi Buendía and Ollie Watkins are the only three to remain in the starting lineup. Pep Guardiola has made nine changes for his final game as Manchester City boss.
The Villans will well and truly be on the beach this afternoon, after their 3-0 win in the Europa League final against SC Freiburg, to win their first major trophy in 30 years.
It was a dominant display that showcased moments of brilliance by the Villa team. The result also proved that Emery is the king of the competition, having now won it five times.
This afternoon, they face Manchester City in what is Pep Guardiola’s final game as manager for the club. They lost 1-0 to Bournemouth during the week, which shattered their hopes of the Premier League title. As the result of today’s fixture has no bearing on their league position, Guardiola has made nine changes.
Here are the lineups for the final game of the 2025/26 campaign.
Brand new back four
As expected, Marco Bizot comes in for Emi Martínez, after the Argentinian suffered a broken finger during the warm-up of the Europa League final.
Emery has selected a back four that has never played together this season. Andrés García makes his first start of the campaign, replacing Matty Cash, who drops to the bench.
Victor Lindelöf and Tyrone Mings are the centre-back partnership for today. The Swede slots back into defence after a run of five games in midfield.
And finally, Ian Maatsen completes the defence at left-back.
Bogarde starts in midfield
Youri Tielemans gets a rest this afternoon, as he is replaced by Douglas Luiz, who will be making his final appearance in a claret and blue shirt.
With Lindelöf likely to drop into defence, Lamare Bogarde will take his place in midfield. It is the 22-year-old’s eleventh start in the Premier League this season.
Buendía and Watkins remain
In attack, Leon Bailey replaces the captain John McGinn, who is amongst the substitutes. It is just his fourth start since his recall from Roma in January. On Wednesday night, he became the first-ever Jamaican to win a European trophy.
Ross Barkley returns in the No 10 position, meaning Morgan Rogers is finally rested after starting all league games this season.
Emi Buendía keeps his place after a fantastic performance in the Europa League final, whilst Ollie Watkins also remains in the starting XI.
There is no Jadon Sancho, Harvey Elliott, Tammy Abraham or Rogers on the bench.
Confirmed lineups
Aston Villa confirmed XI: Bizot, García, Lindelöf, Mings, Maatsen, Bogarde, Luiz, Bailey, Barkley, Buendía, Watkins
Subs: Wright, Cash, Digne, Torres, Onana, Hemmings, Tielemans, McGinn, Burrowes
Manchester City confirmed XI: Trafford, Lewis, Stones, Dias, Ake, Gonzalez, Reijnders, Savinho, Silva, Foden, Semenyo
Subs: Bettinelli, Gvardiol, Nunes, Alleyne, Ait Nouri, Cherki, Doku, Marmoush
