Aston Villa have opened up their Premier League campaign with a whimper, losing four out of their five matches to date so far and Steven Gerrard will be feeling the pressure ahead of the match against Manchester City this evening.

A solid summer of transfer activity hasn’t yet yielded any positive results and with the league champions up next, Gerrard will need to find a spark from somewhere, but one of his deadline-day signings may not be in the starting XI to help his cause.

Gerrard might be without Dendoncker

Villa wrapped up a deal for Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Leander Dendoncker on the final day of the transfer window and Gerrard would have expected him to be available ready to take on Man City tonight.

However, during his pre-match press conference before Saturday's game, he dropped some worrying injury news, saying: "Leander is struggling a little bit this morning with his throat, so we'll have to analyse that as the day goes along.”

Not the news the Villa faithful would have been wanting ahead of a crunch tie with the title holders, although it looks as though the 42-year-old is waiting until the last minute before making any decision on his inclusion.

The Belgian poses a threat from the centre of midfield, scoring twice and grabbing two assists for Wolves last season, while also making 0.4 key passes per match as he looked to create chances for others.

The 27-year-old can also protect the back four with his defensive abilities if required, making 1.4 tackles per game, 1.1 clearances, and winning one aerial duel each match.

He was a key figure in a Wolves side under Lage that only conceded 43 goals last time out and this is an area that Villa needs to work on, as they conceded 13 more goals and Gerrard looks to have added some solidity into the midfield by securing his signature.

Hopefully, the manager receives good news regarding the player, and even though it will be a tough ask to win the match, having the Belgian in his engine room might make Man City’s job slightly harder.