Unai Emery makes his bow as Aston Villa manager as the Villains host Manchester United at Villa Park.
Victory would see Villa stay out of the relegation zone, whereas a win would see Man Utd go fourth if Newcastle fail to beat Southampton elsewhere.
Team News
Emiliano Martinez is a doubt for Aston Villa after he suffered a concussion in their defeat at Newcastle last weekend.
Ludwig Augustinsson (hamstring) could be available but Boubacar Kamara (knee) and Diego Carlos (Achilles) are still ruled out.
Man Utd will be without Bruno Fernandes who is suspended for this game, after he collected his fifth domestic booking against West Ham last weekend.
Antony (knock), Anthony Martial (back) and Jadon Sancho (illness) could all return if fit.
Raphael Varane (muscle), Axel Tuanzebe, Brandon Williams (both unspecified) and Mason Greenwood (personal) remain absent.
Stat Attack
- Aston Villa have claimed four points from their last five league meetings against Man Utd (W1, D1, L3).
- Man Utd are unbeaten in their last 23 league visits to Villa Park (W15, D8).
- Villa are looking to achieve three consecutive league matches against Utd without defeat for first time since December 2009 – November 2010.
- Aston Villa have won three of their last five opening games under a new permanent manager (W2, D1, L2), with their last three managers making their debut at home (W2, D1).
- One of Marcus Rashford’s four league goals for Utd this season was scored via a header, which came in a 1-0 home win over West Ham last weekend.
Prediction
Having clinched a ruthless victory in their last home outing at Villa Park following Steven Gerrard’s departure, Villa were disappointing in last weekend’s defeat at Newcastle with various defensive errors and miscommunication issues after a strong first-half effort.
Emiliano Martinez’s concussion and awful protocol adherence though didn’t help matters either but with Emery now officially in charge, a reaction is absolutely required here if the Villains are to get their season back on track.
Man Utd meanwhile were a team of two halves in Thursday’s scrappy Europa League win at Real Sociedad, because they were absolutely superb in the first-half yet completely lacklustre after half-time with no shots on target and silly tactical decisions like playing Harry Maguire as a striker.
It is worth adding that Utd had fielded a strong team too albeit minimal changes so it will be interesting to see just what shape they’re in here, especially after wasteful displays in their last two matches which Villa should look to capitalise on if play like they did against Brentford a fortnight ago.
Villa Park though has been an away fortress for Utd in this fixture but with Emery in charge and knowing how to avoid defeat to Man Utd in the Premier League, I think this could be closer than anyone expects if Villa can get the new manager bounce and defend better.
Prediction: Aston Villa 1-1 Manchester United
Result: Aston Villa 3-1 Manchester United
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