Gary Lineker shares Man City verdict as Kevin De Bruyne’s Club World Cup inclusion explained

The latest headlines from Manchester City involving Kevin De Bruyne and MOTD presenter Gary Lineker.

Manchester City find themselves in untested waters after their winless Premier League run was extended to four matches with defeat at high-flying Aston Villa on Wednesday night.

A winner from Leon Bailey – 15 minutes from the end – settled the scores at Villa Park as a star-studded City side slipped to fourth in the standings as a result. Villa leapfrogged them with three points and Pep Guardiola’s side are now just three points ahead of bitter rivals Manchester United – who have seemed to lurch from crisis to crisis this season.

City are straight back in action when they head to relegation-threatened Luton Town on Sunday afternoon (2pm). Here are your evening headlines on Thursday, December 7;

De Bruyne’s inclusion for Club World Cup explained
City have included injured playmaker Kevin De Bruyne in their squad for the Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia this month, but the Belgian will not play any part on the pitch in the tournament.

City head to the Gulf state after their Premier League match against Crystal Palace on December 16 and will play their semi-final in Jeddah on December 19, against either Mexico’s Club Leon or Urawa Red Diamonds from Japan.

There will then be a third-fourth place play-off or a final December 22. De Bruyne hasn’t played since picking up a hamstring injury on the opening day of the season.

Lineker gives verdict amid City struggles
Gary Lineker reckons City were comprehensively outplayed in every department by Villa as the TV figure heaped praise on Unai Emery’s high-flying side.

City’s recent slump continued at Villa Park in midweek when Pep Guardiola’s champions were beaten 1-0 and the score-line could have easily been more harsh on the treble-winners. City managed only two shots on target when compared to Villa’s eight.

For the first time in more than seven years, City have gone four Premier League games without a win. They are six points behind table-topping Arsenal after 15 matches played.