Aston Villa have now beaten Manchester City at home four seasons in a row after Saturday’s 2-1 success.

In doing so, the resurgent Villans ended City’s 100% Premier League record in 2026/27.

Here are our Scout Notes from Villa Park.

ALL-ACTION JACKSON

If you’d have suggested at the start of the campaign that Nicolas Jackson (£6.7m) would be the most sought-after transfer target of any Gameweek this season, then the nurses would probably have upped the dosage.

But here he is, at the top of the ‘transfers in’ column ahead of Gameweek 9:

A brace against Man City has taken him to four goals in as many Gameweeks, and eight goals in his last eight starts in all competitions.

It’s not just the form on his side but also the fixtures (below), as well as being a handy (albeit slightly more expensive) replacement for the misfiring Yoane Wissa (£6.1m) and Gonzalo Garcia (£6.0m). If Joao Pedro (£7.9m) is ruled out for any length of time, the demand will only increase further.

There’s no doubt that Unai Emery seems to know how to get the best out of the striker. The two worked previously at Villarreal, and Emery indeed handed Jackson his senior debut with the La Liga outfit.

“How he was working, how he was defending, how he was getting duels… wow. And then he has the power to attack with the spaces, to attack with duels. And his challenge is, when he can have chances to score, always in the corner of the goals, because he was shooting so much at the beginning the season like in rugby! So, he’s progressing well.” – Unai Emery on Nicolas Jackson’s Gameweek 8 display

And there’s little doubt about Jackson’s excellent ability as a link-up man, with his first touch and hold-up play superb. That was never in question even during the dark days at Chelsea.

What was up for debate was his finishing ability. In two seasons with the Blues, he underachieved on the xG front. Has age and a different, less pressure-cooker environment really helped him become a more accomplished finisher? Even Emery alluded to his rugby-style finishing in the quote above.

You’d have to say he’s had a little bit of luck. Gianluigi Donnarumma (£5.5m) should have saved one, maybe both of his goals on Saturday. If we’re looking at the quality of his shots, TopMarx’s table suggests he has been the luckiest forward of 2026/27. Opta would expect around two goals, not four, based on his attempts:

We’ll leave the final word on Jackson to our resident Villan, Tom Freeman, who will be doing a deep-dive on Villa assets this week.

FIT-AGAIN MANZAMBI ON THE LEFT

And our deputy editor may also have plenty to say about Johan Manzambi (£6.0m). The talented Swiss youngster himself looks set for a rise in ownership and price this week.

Manzambi swiftly returned from a minor injury to start on Saturday, although this was not a game to really judge his attacking output. Firstly, he was on the left, not in the ’10’ where he has done damage in recent weeks. Emery often opts for a more conservative selection in fixtures such as this, and he did so again at the weekend, pairing two central midfielders with the workmanlike John McGinn (£5.4m) in ‘the hole’.

With City boasting 63.4% possession, a lot of Manzambi’s duties were off the ball. One free-kick from range was his only shot or key pass, although he could well have earned a penalty.

Still, he was nevertheless very good on Saturday, and he’s going to get a lot more chances to showcase his attacking qualities in the coming seven Gameweeks than he did against City.

Rotation might be an issue with Villa assets, of course, as we approach a busy November and December:

CITY A TAD UNLUCKY?

Villa were superb on Saturday, both on and off the ball. A cut-price Matty Cash (£4.3m) had a stormer at right-back, while Zion Suzuki (£5.0m) is looking like a hell of a capture between the sticks. Cash, incidentally, is now just one booking away from a ban following Saturday’s latest caution.

But did City perhaps merit a draw? You could make a case for it, certainly considering they hit the woodwork twice, saw an Erling Haaland (£15.7m) header cleared off the line, dominated the xG, and forced Suzuki into six saves. The Japanese international’s low stop from Rayan Cherki (£8.0m) and tip onto the bar from Josko Gvardiol (£5.8m) were particularly good.

“We had many [chances]. I think we play most of the game on their side, in their box, but you have to be clinical in that moment. And for sure, you have to avoid mistakes like the two goals that we concede.” – Enzo Maresca

No real concern in the attack, then (Haaland scored, as usual), but more question marks at the back.

Marc Guehi‘s (£6.0m) form continues to be a concern, and it was he who gave the ball away for Jackson’s opener. Really, though, as much of the problem lies in midfield. The Enzo Fernandez (£6.9m) and Elliot Anderson (£6.3m) pairing leaves question marks off the ball, especially when there’s someone like Cherki ahead of them. Probably the most balanced that City’s midfield has looked in 2026/27 was in the second half against PSG, when Enzo was in the ’10’ and Anderson was joined by Ayyoub Bouaddi (£5.5m) deeper.

Maresca acknowledged the need to find “balance” – while at the same time praising the Enzo-Anderson partnership…

 “Yeah, for sure. We need to find that balance.” – Enzo Maresca

“I think we were quite good. Again, they were the ones in charge to control the game and to build up with Rúben [Dias] and Marc Guéhi, first half, and then Khusa [Abdukodir Khusanov] second half. I think they did well.” – Enzo Maresca on Enzo Fernandez and Elliot Anderson

MARESCA EXPLAINS GUEHI, CHERKI + NDIAYE SUBS…

Guehi and Cherki were both hooked at half-time on Saturday. That’s happened a few times with Cherki this season, but Maresca denied that he had any problem with the Frenchman.

“The last game I changed him half-time, I changed him, Rúben Dias and one more player. I don’t remember now, against PSG. So, it’s not just Rayan. Today, I changed Rayan, but I changed also Marc Guéhi. So it’s just, in that moment, what I can see, where we can improve things, where we can change.  But the main reason today for Marc and for Rayan was also because both they were on a yellow card.” – Enzo Maresca on Rayan Cherki 

“He’s okay. Just a technical decision, like happening in all the games that the manager decides to make a change.

“I’m not worried about Marc at all. I know that he is playing every minute since the season starts with us, with the international team, so it’s not easy. But again, the change was also because he was on a yellow card, and in the way we want to be aggressive, sometimes to have one yellow card can be dangerous. But I’m not worried at all.” – Enzo Maresca on Marc Guehi

Iliman Ndiaye (£5.8m) also came off relatively early, midway through the second half. That was more of a surprise, as he had arguably been City’s brightest spark. Digging out a cross for Haaland’s equaliser, he also hit the post with a curling first-half effort.

His withdrawal, however, was fitness-related.

“Yeah, he’s okay. He was asking [to come off]. He had cramp, so he was tired. That’s why we decided to change, but he was very good between first half and second half.” – Enzo Maresca on Iliman Ndiaye

…AND NOT STARTING FODEN

Ahead of kick-off, Maresca also explained why he didn’t start Tuesday’s hat-trick hero, Phil Foden (£6.8m).

“Not easy. Phil, Ayyoub. The good thing is that, because we play so many games, it’s good to have so many players available. For sure, they are going to help the team during the game.” – Enzo Maresca

Saturday summed up the dilemma that FPL managers have with the likes of Foden and Cherki. Both of them are capable of huge returns, as seen in recent weeks, but the two of them are (predominantly) competing for one spot, as evidenced by 45 minutes apiece at Villa Park.

GVARDIOL THREAT

Ndiaye and Doku saw plenty of the ball on Saturday, registering a whopping 29 penalty box touches between them.

Doku, locked in a tremendous tussle with Cash, led the way for expected goal involvement (xGI):

But it was Gvardiol who was arguably City’s biggest goal threat. Popping up with nine touches in the box himself (and, unlike the two wingers, those touches were in the middle of the area, rather than wide), he registered a joint-game-best three shots.

Two were really good chances, the first tipped onto the bar by Suzuki, and the second smothered from close range by the alert Villa ‘keeper.

Much like Cherki, however, there’s less a question of his attacking potential, and more about his minutes. Benched in the previous two league games, you wonder if he’d even have started had Nico O’Reilly (£6.3m) not had fitness issues during the week.