Ex-Villa scout names the two Man City players Aston Villa will fear in clash
Aston Villa have been told to be wary of Phil Foden and Erling Haaland ahead of Saturday's visit of Manchester City.
That is according to former senior Villa scout and legendary Scandinavian talent-spotter, Bryan King, speaking exclusively to Football Insider.
Unai Emery will be aware of the visitors' various threats, with a game plan certainly being drawn up to take the league leaders by surprise.
Man City have won all seven of their Premier League fixtures so far, but have been beaten on their last three trips to Villa Park.
And after a slow start to the season, Villa look to have hit a rich vein of form and have won five of their last six games across all competitions.
In Foden and Haaland, however, they will come up against two players currently in devastating form.
Unai Emery 'has got to be careful'
On Tuesday, Foden netted a hat-trick against AEK Athens in the Champions League, following his goal against Ipswich Town last week.
The midfielder has not been at his best so far this season, but now looks to be full of confidence and ready to make his mark.
Haaland sat out Tuesday's match but is tipped to return on Saturday off the back of 12 goals in his last eight club games across all competitions, scoring in every single one.
"I think Emery will have a go at them. If he's got his best 11 available, he'll play. What he's got to be careful, of course, is the way and how quickly Manchester City can defend and then get the ball forward," King told Football Insider.
"They're very good when they're playing away at counter-attacking teams. Tuesday night, the boy Foden had a good night. He got a hat-trick, and he looked very lively.
"Haaland will come back in this game. He didn't play last night, so he'll be fresh and ready to go against Villa. It'll be a tough game for Villa. Always will be.
"It's a tough game for anybody when you play Man City, to be honest. It's a big game. It'll be a great atmosphere."
Emery facing new Man City opponent
While Emery has established a good recent record against Man City, those wins came against a Pep Guardiola-led side.
This time around, the Spaniard will face off against a new but familiar opponent in Enzo Maresca.
Villa played the Italian's Chelsea team three times, coming out on top on the latter two occasions.
Yet a new Man City manager may well require new tactics for Emery, with Maresca hoping to buck the recent trend at Villa Park.