Silva fit to face Villa

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Reigning Premier League champions Manchester City will be able to deploy playmaker David Silva when they take on Aston Villa.

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has confirmed that David Silva is fit to face Aston Villa.

Silva was taken off on a stretcher during last Sunday's 2-0 win over West Ham after being caught in the face by an elbow from Cheikhou Kouyate.

And Pellegrini told a pre-match press conference: "David worked the whole week with no problems. We have injuries to [Gael] Clichy, [Stevan] Jovetic and [Samir] Nasri, but [James] Milner also worked without any problems."

Pellegrini has also been boosted by the return of Wilfried Bony following knee and ankle problems, but there is no sign of captain Vincent Kompany recovering from a thigh injury in the near future.

"It's important to see how Vincent will improve in the next week," Pellegrini added. "I think he'll be missing for at least two weeks more - I think then after two games, if he continues to work well, he can be fit.

"Nasri has a muscle injury from the last game. In the last minute, he started playing and he sustained a muscle injury. We hope it's a small problem."

The Chilean refuted suggestions Villa's progression to the FA Cup final will have an impact on the game, saying: "I don't think that Aston Villa will not be concentrated.

"One thing is the final of the FA Cup, the other thing is battling against relegation. For this reason, it will be a very tough game.

"[I expect them to play] Similar to the way they played against Liverpool. They are a team that tries to play as an offensive team. We are used to playing eight or nine players defending."