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Aston Villa edged past League Two Wycombe to book a fourth-round FA Cup tie at home against fellow Premier League side Manchester City.

Wycombe went close when Garry Thompson headed over after keeper Brad Guzan missed a cross and also nodded over when unmarked.

But Villa defender Ciaran Clark opened the scoring for Villa when he headed in an Ashley Westwood cross.

And Idrissa Gueye guided in a second to ensure the hosts progressed.

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Villa are marooned at the bottom of the Premier League and the club's battle against relegation might have been behind the decision of manager Remi Garde to make nine changes from Saturday's draw with Leicester.

Garde's team have improved in their last two league games but they were quickly on the back foot against Wycombe.

There were even a smattering of boos from the home fans at a sparsely populated Villa Park at the half-time whistle.

Villa showed more energy and urgency after the break, with Scott Sinclair the main catalyst for Garde's team.

He shot wide before another strike was blocked by a last ditch Aaron Pierre challenge.

Jordan Ayew headed wide for the hosts, but last season's finalists finally broke the deadlock through Clark, with Gueye's late goal sealing the win.

Wycombe might be seventh in League Two but they made light of the two-division gap between the sides.

They had their hosts on the backfoot when Sam Wood went close with a powerful shot which was well saved by Guzan.

However, Guzan did not cover himself in glory when he missed a Joe Jacobson cross, only to have his blushes saved when Thompson headed over an empty net.

The midfielder put another chance high when well-placed as the visitors struggled to maintain the pace.

Aston Villa manager Remi Garde: "The most important thing was to win and go through. We've been professional. It was not always easy.

"I have to congratulate Wycombe. Over the two games, they gave us some tough moments.

"That is the fourth game in a row we are not losing, which is very good for momentum. With the run we are on currently, we're very hopeful for the rest of the season."

Wycombe boss Gareth Ainsworth: "We've got players who are destined for bigger things and, when they put in a performance like that, it makes me a proud man.

"The Wycombe fans were fantastic. They sang even louder when we went 1-0 down."

It's a Midlands derby for Villa as the top-flight's bottom club travel to West Brom in the Premier League, while Wycombe host fellow promotion hopefuls Leyton Orient.