Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has confirmed the absence of Ollie Watkins when they take on Manchester City at the Etihad’ on Wednesday.

Emery said: “They (Jacob Ramsey and Ollie Watkins) will not be available for tomorrow,” adding: “They have small injuries. Jacob Ramsey is not getting better like he wants and we are not in a hurry with him, and for tomorrow.(Wednesday) he is not available.

“With Ollie, it’s more or less the same but I think it’s a small injury. We are going to wait because with some days he could be available for the next match.”

On the challenge of facing City in the Premier League fixture, he said: “Playing against the best team in the Premier League is the biggest test we are facing and tomorrow is one of the most important matches we are going to face.“It’s a tough match and we are respecting them. Playing against Manchester City is very difficult and even more so playing away.

“Guardiola’s players are some of the best in the world, but we are very excited and very motivated. We are doing our way, trying to get better every day and add different players because we are having a lot of bad circumstances with injured players.

“We are always trying to be positive. When the players we have in the squad are in it’s because we believe in them and their capacity to respond when we need them. Now is the moment.”