Villarreal found the back of the net twice in their 2-2 draw with Juventus last time out. They had 17 shots in the game, a tally that returned an xG of 1.72, which tells us that Villarreal did manage to consistently create high-quality chances against Juventus, and they can do the same here against a City side that conceded twice against Monaco in their most recent away game in the Champions League.

Villarreal boast the best home record of any side in LaLiga, having won four of their five home matches. They’ve netted 12 goals across these games (2.4 per game), which is the second-highest tally in the division, only behind Hansi Flick’s Barcelona (13). These numbers would suggest that Villarreal can cause Manchester City serious problems here - Villarreal have managed to score in each of their last six matches across all competitions.

Manchester City conceded an xG of 1.45 and two goals against Monaco in their most recent Champions League assignment. It’s not the only tough task they’ve had on the road this term, with City also conceding against Arsenal and Brighton on the road so far this season. Villarreal can add to that list of sides that have caused City problems on their travels with their incredibly strong home record so far this term.

Manchester City are really starting to click in the final third, with Erling Haaland in particular showing frightening form as we reach an important stage of the season. They had six shots on target against Monaco in their 2-2 draw last time out and can get close to that figure again here.

Haaland’s form is crucial to this selection; he’s had four shots on target across his two appearances in the Champions League so far (2.12 per 90). We can expect Haaland to be responsible for two or three of City’s shots on target here, which only leaves a few more from the rest of the squad for our selection to land here.

As well as the six shots on target that City managed against Monaco last time out, they also hit eight shots on target against Napoli on Matchday 1 of the Champions League. Napoli were reduced to 10 men early on, so it is a slightly skewed comparison, but it does highlight City’s ability to rack up the shots on target count at this stage of the competition.

Nicolas Pepe has posted a promising shot record in the early stages of the season with 23 shots across his nine appearances in LaLiga (3.66 per 90). He’s had a further five shots across his two appearances in the Champions League so far this season (2.50 per 90) with at least one shot in both of Villarreal’s games against Tottenham and Juventus.

Pepe had 38 shots across his 28 appearances in LaLiga last season (2.29 per 90), with this record returning just three goals for the 30-year-old. It’s clear that Pepe is not the most clinical with his high shot volume, only returning two goals in LaLiga so far this term, but he isn’t afraid to take aim at goal as he’s shown across his early appearances in the Champions League and LaLiga this campaign.

Villarreal had 17 shots in their 2-2 draw with Juventus in their most recent Champions League game, with Pepe having one of these attempts. He also registered an assist in the game and was awarded man of the match for his performances, so we can expect him to be a threat here again.

O’Reilly has committed a foul in both of Manchester City’s Champions League games so far this season. He contested 11 duels against Monaco in City’s most recent Champions League assignment, winning more than any other player (7) as well as making more tackles than any other player (2).

O’Reilly has committed five fouls across his seven appearances in the Premier League so far this season (0.94 per 90), strengthening the argument for him to commit a foul in this encounter. He’s averaged 3.58 tackles per 90 across these games, so it’s clear that O’Reilly gets heavily involved in the defensive side of the game.

His clash against Nicolas Pepe stands out to me here. Pepe has won eight fouls across his nine appearances in LaLiga this term (1.27 per 90) and won 25 fouls across just 15 starts last season (1.51 per 90). He’s likely to test O'Reilly on a few occasions here, who should extend his promising foul record for City so far this season.

This seems like one of the safest bets in football at the moment. Haaland added another two goals to his tally against Everton last time out to take his current record to 17 goals across just 14 appearances in all competitions.

Three of these goals have come in the Champions League, with Haaland scoring against Napoli in the opening game and then adding two more goals to his haul in the Champions League against Monaco last time out. To put Haaland’s incredible start to the season into context, he’s scored in each of his last 10 matches for club and country - he’s scored two or more goals in six of these games.

These numbers are truly alien, even for a player like Haaland, and the Norwegian shows no signs of slowing down with City also starting to find their feet as a side. Haaland looks back to his best form, and this could be his most impressive campaign so far in a City shirt with how he’s started the season.

Veiga was shown a yellow card in Villarreal's opening game of the Champions League season against Tottenham. He committed one foul in the game and lost all four of his duels against Richarlison on that occasion, and it’s likely that we see those numbers exaggerated here with his clash against Erling Haaland.

Veiga has also received a caution in LaLiga, which came against Atletico Madrid earlier on in the campaign. I watched him quite closely when he was at Chelsea and he always has an aggressive streak about him. This isn’t quite reflected in his foul numbers, but I'm confident that Haaland will be able to force a rise in these numbers.

Haaland doesn’t win many fouls but is a real handful with his size, pace and power. Veiga is more likely than his center-back partner, Foyth, to engage with Haaland, as he is the more physical and aggressive of the pair. I can see the two having a few run ins which I’d back Haaland to win, putting Veiga in the limelight for a few fouls and a card in this encounter.

Mikautadze has made a fairly decent start to life at Villarreal, having joined from Lyon over the summer. The Georgian striker caught the eye in the European Championship last summer, helping Georgia to the knockout stages with a few goals from the penalty spot.

He’s scored two goals for Villarreal in LaLiga so far this term, managing four shots on target across his 307 minutes of action (1.17 per 90). He’s also scored in the Champions League, with the 24-year-old getting the opener in Villarreal’s 2-2 draw with Juventus last time out. He had two shots in the game, with the attempt that found the target ending up in the back of the net.

City are still a touch vulnerable defensively in the continued absence of Rodri. They conceded three shots on target against Monaco in their most recent Champions League outing, so there should be opportunities for Villarreal to find the target here.