Manchester United return to Premier League assignments this weekend as they face Aston Villa.
United are enjoying a good run of form at the moment, picking up a 1-0 win over West Ham United in their last league game.
Villa have struggled to impress this season and were thrashed 4-0 by high-flying Newcastle United last time out.
The Red Devils failed to beat the Villans in the Premier League last term and will hope for better luck this time around.
When and where will the game take place?
United will return to the road once again to face the Birmingham outfit at Villa Park.
The game will be played on Sunday afternoon as one of the final five games of the round. It’s one of the rare Man Utd fixtures to not aired live on TV.
Match Preview
Aston Villa
The home side have endured a difficult campaign and are now dangerously close to the drop zone.
Their poor run of results prompted the dismissal of manager Steven Gerrard, with former Arsenal boss Unai Emery coming in as the new head coach.
Emery makes his debut this weekend and will be looking to kick off on a positive note.
The Spaniard will be unable to call on the services of the injured Diego Carlos and Boubacar Kamara, but Lucas Digne has returned to full fitness.
Manchester United
United are enjoying a good run of form at the moment and are undefeated in their last nine games across all competitions.
They beat West Ham 1-0 in the league last weekend, with Marcus Rashford scoring the only goal of the game with a towering header in the first half.
The Englishman came off the bench in United’s sub-par 1-0 victory over Real Sociedad on Thursday but should return to the starting XI this weekend.
Bruno Fernandes will miss the trip to Villa due to a suspension, while there are doubts over the fitness of Antony, Jadon Sancho and Anthony Martial.
Players to watch – Bailey vs Dalot
It is unclear how Villa will line up under their new boss, but Sunday’s game will undoubtedly feature a strong XI.
Leon Bailey has been a regular for the hosts of late and has started more games this season than he did in the entirety of the previous campaign.
Diogo Dalot has been United’s most-improved player this campaign and has started every game for the Red Devils this season.
Both men will have key roles to play in Sunday’s game, and it will be interesting to see who comes out on top in their battle.
Aston Villa vs Manchester United Predicted XI
Aston Villa (4-2-3-1): Emiliano Martinez; Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Mings, Lucas Digne; Douglas Luiz, Leander Dendoncker; Leon Bailey, Emiliano Buendia, Ollie Watkins; Danny Ings.
Manchester United (4-2-3-1): David de Gea; Diogo Dalot, Victor Lindelof, Lisandro Martínez, Luke Shaw; Casemiro, Christian Eriksen; Anthony Elanga, Donny van de Beek, Marcus Rashford; Cristiano Ronaldo.
