Manchester City will be desperate for a regulation win, after eking out victories in the last few games, which has kept them in the running for the English Premier League title.
Roberto Mancini's men host Aston Villa, unlucky losers to Manchester United last week, with City looking to make a statement of sorts and try to take the focus away from the off-field issues which continue to plague them.
Mancini was bombarded with questions about the situation with Mario Balotelli, who was left out of the squad against Tottenham in last Sunday's game, with the Italian manager criticizing the forward for a lack of effort in training.
"I told him after training on the Saturday that he was not in the squad," Mancini said. "I took this decision because he didn't work well for three days and I don't like this.
"It is his attitude in training I'm talking about. He needs to work harder. If a player does not work well then he does not deserve to play. What you do in training, you will then do on the pitch.
"So every player needs to work hard in training and improve his performance."
Balotelli might be left out of the squad yet again, with Mancini desperate to pick up another three points against Villa, before focusing on the Champions League match against Real Madrid, which will be another must-win game.
"What is important is the game against Villa -- we need to win it," he said. "We will need to have a good attitude because it will be a tough game. After that we think about Real Madrid."
Villa manager Paul Lambert is hoping the 4-2 League Cup win over City earlier this season will help his team find the belief needed to beat the reigning Premier League champions.
"The cup win will give them a bit of belief but it is a completely different game," Lambert told reporters. "It will be different personnel that will play.
"But they have done it once and that will be in their heads. I know how hard it is going to be but we are playing well enough to cause them trouble.
"Nobody expects you to win these games but ourselves. We never got the result against Man Utd but we took a lot of positives out of the game.
"I know it's a really tough game but I have belief in my team that we will do the best we can to win. You have to try to impose yourself. As long as we have the belief.
"If they keep doing what they are doing, they will win more games than not. It is a true saying you can lose a game in the tunnel if you are intimidated and think not earned the right to play someone. But we have, we have earned that right. And we will go up there and try and win."
City will welcome back James Milner, Joleon Lescott and Samir Nasri, while Villa will have Eric Lichaj and Nathan Bake available.
To watch Manchester City vs Aston Villa Live Stream, click here.
Expected lineups: Man City: Hart; Clichy, Nastasic, Kompany, Zabaleta; Barry, Toure; Nasri, Silva, Aguero, Dzeko.
Aston Villa: Guzan; Lowton, Vlaar, Clark, Stevens; Westwood, Ireland; Weimann, Bannan, Agbonlahor; Benteke.
Prediction: 2-0 to City
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