Former City stars Gareth Barry and Darius Vassell - who also starred in claret and blue - will be appearing in the studio for the game and they’ll be joined by ex-Villa captain Stiliyan Petrov, who will run the rule over the opposition.
Barry is the record-holder for the most Premier League appearances, having played 653 times in the competition during a 22-year career.
Playing 175 times in sky blue, Barry won the FA Cup in 2011 and the Premier League in 2012.
He impressed as a reliable, composed and tactically astute midfielder with a knack for sniffing out danger and his understated style of play made him one of the unsung heroes of that title-winning side.
He started his career at Villa, making his debut at 17 and spending 11 years in the Midlands before joining City for the most successful period of his career.
It was in claret and blue that Barry forged a successful partnership with Petrov in the central ground.
Petrov is one of the most popular players in Aston Villa history, having served them with great distinction during the Martin O’Neill era and beyond.
Petrov became O’Neill’s first signing at Villa Park in September 2006 when he joined from Celtic in the Scottish Premier League.
He scored Villa’s Goal of the Season in 2007/08 before picking up both Players and Supporters Player of the Year for his performances in 2008/09.
The following season saw him succeed Martin Laursen as captain and he led the team to their third successive sixth-place finish in the Barclays Premier League.
He also captained the side to a League Cup final and FA Cup semi-final.
His final season 2011/12, also saw special moments, his goals against Sunderland, Everton and especially Chelsea proving to be vital ingredients in their successful battle to retain their top-flight status under Alex McLeish, who had succeeded Gerard Houllier.
His biggest test, though, was his battle with leukaemia that he started waging in March 2012.
Petrov won that after fighting the disease with courage and conviction.
He has forged a new career as a TV pundit.
Overall, he played 219 games and scored 12 goals for the Villans.
Vassell, like Barry, played for both City and Villa.
He joined Villa in July 1996 as a YTS trainee and quickly impressed with his mesmeric blend of pace, power and finishing.
Lightning fast, he was incredibly never on the losing side in any of the 46 Premier League games in which he scored.
At Villa, Vassell scored 45 goals in 199 games.
Vassell was signed by City boss Stuart Pearce in July 2005 and went on to score 22 goals in 124 games across four seasons in sky blue.
He received international recognition, too, representing England 22 times, scoring six goals.
They’ll be joined in the studio by presenter Cel Spellman and will give their pre-match, half-time and post-game analysis of the encounter between City and Villa.
CITY V VILLA
Follow all the action from City v Villa on our Official App.
The game takes place on Sunday with a 16:30 kick-off and we’ve got you covered with comprehensive coverage.
We will start live updates at 14:30 on our Matchday Centre and that will run throughout the afternoon.
Our Matchday Live programme will begin shortly before team news arrives at 15:30.
Cel Spellman will be in the studio with Gareth Barry, Stiliyan Petrov and Darius Vassell to give their analysis.
During the game, Alistair Mann and Andy Morrison will talk you through proceedings with our radio commentary offering.
Afterwards, our short highlights are available from 20:15 (UK) with our extended highlights online from midnight.
Subscribers to CITY+ and Recast can enjoy a full-match replay of the whole 90 minutes, also from midnight.
Don’t forget, the best way to follow Manchester City is by downloading the Official App!
And when you do, turn on notifications to get alerted when our Matchday Live show, featuring Barry, Petrov and Vassell starts.
Download on your mobile phone or tablet via Apple’s App Store or Google Play Store, or, if you already have the app, then simply visit the stores and update.
