Sports Mole previews Sunday’s Premier League clash between Aston Villa and Manchester United, including predictions, team news and possible line-ups.
Manchester United will aim to make it four wins in a row in all competitions when they head to Villa Park in the Premier League on Sunday to face Aston Villa.
The Red Devils are currently fifth in the table with 23 points, one point behind fourth-placed Newcastle United, while a disappointing start has left Villa in 16th, just one point outside the relegation zone.
Match preview
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Unai Emery was officially unveiled as Villa’s new manager on Friday, marking the Spaniard’s return to the Premier League following his short spell at Arsenal between May 2018 and November 2019.
The 51-year-old struggled to make his mark at the Emirates Stadium but has since enjoyed a successful spell at Villarreal and, speaking during his presentation, Emery said he was determined to end Villa’s trophy drought and bring them back. european football
The experienced head coach will be aware of the scale of the job he has taken on, however, with Villa struggling this season, winning three, drawing three and losing seven of their 13 Premier League games to sit 16th in the table .
Villa started life after Steven Gerrard with a 4-0 win over Brentford on October 23, but then lost 4-0 at Newcastle last weekend, and it would be fair to say consistency has been an issue real
“My dream is to win a trophy with Aston Villa. It’s my personal challenge at the beginning. My second goal could be to play for Aston Villa in Europe. Now we have to start thinking only about the next game because not we are in a good position in the table,” Emery said on Friday.
Villa, who face Man United again in the EFL Cup next Thursday, incredibly haven’t beaten the Red Devils at Villa Park since October 1999, while their last league success at home to 20 times English champions returned in August 1995.
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In fact, Man United’s two most recent Premier League defeats to Villa have both come at Old Trafford, including a 1-0 defeat last season, with Kortney Hause winning it in the 88th minute of the contest.
However, much has changed at the club since then, with Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola saying at the end of October that Man United will “come back” after a difficult few years.
The Red Devils lost their opening two games of the 2022-23 Premier League campaign against Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford, but have won seven times, drawn twice and lost just once in the league since then, with the team showing great improvement under new head coach Erik ten Hag.
A record 23 points from 12 games has left them fifth in the table, just one point behind fourth-placed Newcastle and just three behind third-placed Tottenham Hotspur, with both sides above them having a game in hand.
The Ten Hag side secured a 1-0 win over West Ham United in the league last weekend, with Marcus Rashford scoring his 100th goal for the club, while they also won in the league on Thursday Europe, beating Real Sociedad 1-0 courtesy of Alejandro Garnacho’s senior first goal.
Man United, however, finished second in their Europa League section and will therefore have to take part in a two-legged play-off in February to determine whether they will be in the last 16 of the competition.
Aston Villa Premier League form:
Manchester United Premier League form:
Manchester United form (all competitions):
Team news
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Villa will again be without Boubacar Kamara, Ludwig Augustinsson and Diego Carlos through injury on Sunday, but Emiliano Martinez should be between the sticks, with the goalkeeper recovering from the head injury that forced him off against Newcastle.
Emery will not have had much time to assess his players before selecting a starting team, so there are unlikely to be any major surprises when it comes to his XI for this competition.
Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings should be in the side again, while Leon Bailey is expected to feature in a wide area for the hosts.
John McGinn and Lucas Digne could earn a recall, with Ashley Young and Emiliano Buendia potentially the two players to leave the first team following the defeat at St James’ Park.
As for Man United, Ten Hag has admitted he does not know if Anthony Martial, Jadon Sancho and Antony will be available for selection this weekend.
Martial is back in training as he tries to recover from a back problem and could move to the bench, while Sancho (illness) and Antony (knock) could overcome their problems to feature, with the latter believed to be has the best chance of entering the table. XI in the Park of the Villa.
Bruno Fernandes is suspended, which could open the door for Fred to start, while Brandon Williams, Axel Tuanzebe and Raphael Varane remain unavailable through injury.
Ten Hag have a big decision to make when it comes to the middle of their defence, and Victor Lindelof could finally get Harry Maguire to start alongside Lisandro Martinez.
Rashford was a surprise substitute against Real Sociedad but is expected to return to the XI here, while Cristiano Ronaldo, who has nine career goals against Villa, should also start.
Aston Villa possible starting line-up: E Martínez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Digne; Dendoncker, Luiz, McGinn; Watkins, Ings, Bailey
Manchester United possible starting line-up: De Gea; Dalot, Lindelof, L Martinez, Shaw; Fred, Casemiro, Eriksen; Antony, Ronaldo, Rashford
We say: Aston Villa 1-2 Manchester United
Man United will be wary of the threat Villa could offer under their new head coach, who will have a plan to stop the 20-time English champions on Sunday. We expect it to be a very difficult game for the Red Devils, but they are in good form, and we are backing a 2-1 win for the visitors here.
For data analysis of the most likely results, results and more of this match, click here.
Superior Council
Our expert reporting partners at Sporita.com predict over 2.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more tried and tested football tips. Over 2.5: date ID:498895:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect16396:
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