Manchester City's Visit to Aston Villa Could Bring a Different Atmosphere to Villa Park

There is always something special about Manchester City coming to Villa Park, particularly when you consider Aston Villa's record against them over the last few seasons, but I think Saturday's game has the potential to produce a slightly different atmosphere to the one we've become accustomed to when the two sides meet.

Villa have beaten City at home in each of the last three seasons, and ordinarily that would be more than enough to generate plenty of excitement ahead of another meeting with the Premier League leaders. However, there's obviously a wider conversation surrounding Manchester City at the moment, and I think it would be naive to suggest that won't have some influence on the reception they receive from Villa supporters.

I've spoken quite openly about the situation surrounding City's financial charges previously, and some of what's happened has become a little bit personal from a Villa perspective, particularly when you consider the financial restrictions our own club has had to navigate. There are legitimate questions about the consistency of football's financial regulations and how different clubs are treated, and I can understand why Villa supporters feel strongly about that.

At the same time, I've reached a point where I'm quite bored of discussing the charges themselves. The situation has been going on for such a long time, we've heard so many different arguments about what should or shouldn't happen, and ultimately there isn't a great deal more to add until the relevant processes have reached their conclusion. Whatever happens will happen, and I'd much rather concentrate on the football.

That doesn't mean I don't expect the atmosphere to be hostile on Saturday, because I absolutely do, particularly during the opening stages. I imagine Manchester City's players will receive a fairly lively reception when they emerge from the tunnel, and there will undoubtedly be chants referencing the allegations and the wider controversy surrounding the club.

We saw something similar when City travelled to Liverpool recently, although I actually thought the atmosphere at Anfield was slightly different from what I'd anticipated beforehand. There was plenty of hostility surrounding the occasion, but once the game developed, the focus inevitably shifted towards what was happening on the pitch.

I think there's a good chance we see something similar at Villa Park. Supporters can spend the build-up talking about financial regulations, the behaviour of rival fans and everything else that surrounds Manchester City, but once the match starts, those conversations become far less important than whether Villa can actually get a foothold in the game.

If City arrive and dominate possession for the opening 20 minutes, moving the ball around comfortably and preventing Villa from establishing any sort of rhythm, then it's going to become increasingly difficult for the crowd to maintain that initial intensity. Equally, if Villa start aggressively, win challenges, put City under pressure and create a couple of early opportunities, I think the atmosphere could become a real factor.

That's where the players have a responsibility to give supporters something to respond to. Villa Park can be an intimidating place when the team are playing with confidence and purpose, and we've seen that repeatedly under Unai Emery, particularly against some of the strongest opponents in the Premier League and Europe.

There's also an interesting dynamic developing around Manchester City themselves, because they appear to have embraced something of a siege mentality during this period. The response from sections of their support has been confrontational, particularly around the ongoing allegations, and that attitude seems to have become part of the wider identity surrounding the club at the moment.

Enzo Maresca has handled the situation relatively well publicly, and I think he deserves some credit for that. He was capable of becoming quite animated during his time at Chelsea, particularly when dealing with difficult questions after matches, but he's appeared much more controlled in the way he's addressed the issues surrounding Manchester City.

It probably helps enormously that his team have won every Premier League game so far. When you're winning football matches, scoring goals and sitting at the top of the table, it's much easier to maintain that sense of togetherness and convince everybody that outside criticism is simply another obstacle to overcome.

The interesting part will come when City eventually start dropping points, because that's when the questions surrounding the club could become more difficult to separate from what happens on the pitch. Every manager knows how quickly the mood can change after a couple of disappointing results, particularly when there are already significant issues being discussed away from football.

For Villa, though, I don't think any of that should become a distraction from what is a tremendous opportunity on Saturday. Manchester City have been outstanding under Maresca, but they haven't enjoyed their recent visits to Villa Park, and Emery will be looking to extend that record against a team who have yet to taste defeat in the league this season.

There's a genuine excitement around Villa at the moment, with new players beginning to establish themselves, performances improving and the team looking increasingly comfortable following a summer of considerable change. I think supporters are enjoying watching this side develop, and facing the league leaders at home provides another opportunity to see how far we've progressed.

I expect there will be plenty of noise about Manchester City's financial situation before kick-off, and I wouldn't be surprised if some of that continues throughout the afternoon. Football supporters are always going to use whatever ammunition they have against an opponent, and there's an element of pantomime to these occasions that has always been part of the game.

But I also think the most important thing Villa supporters can do is make the atmosphere about Aston Villa. We've beaten Manchester City at Villa Park three seasons running, we're beginning to find some genuine momentum, and we have a manager who has repeatedly demonstrated that he can prepare his team to compete with the very best.

If Villa can produce the sort of performance we've seen from them in recent weeks, particularly the determination and quality they showed at Newcastle, then I think the crowd will respond accordingly.

For all the conversations surrounding Manchester City away from the pitch, the prospect of becoming the first team to beat Maresca's side should be more than enough motivation for everybody inside Villa Park on Saturday.