Manchester United look to stop their domestic rut in a difficult Premier League test against Aston Villa.
Victory will lift Man Utd out of the relegation zone and as high as 15th in the table, whilst Villa could go as high as seventh if Brentford lose at Brighton and Bournemouth fail to beat Ipswich.
Team News
Carlos Baleba is ruled out for Man Utd after he suffered a hamstring injury during their 3-2 comeback win at home to AS Roma on Tuesday evening in the Champions League.
Harry Maguire (hamstring) and Marcus Rashford (hip) are doubts but Lisandro Martinez is suspended for this domestic clash after he was sent off during their 2-0 loss at Chelsea last weekend.
Patrick Dorgu (hamstring) could return if he passes a late fitness test, but Benjamin Sesko (shin), Luke Shaw (unspecified) and Manuel Ugarte (knee) are still absent.
Villa will be without Matty Cash as he serves an one-match suspension after he picked up his fifth booking of the league campaign, during their 1-1 draw against Fulham last weekend.
Manager, Unai Emery otherwise has no fresh injury concerns to report after their 3-0 Champions League defeat at Barcelona on Tuesday evening.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka (hamstring) faces a late fitness test, but Matteo Ruggeri (hamstring) and Amadou Onana (ACL) remain sidelined.
When is Kick-Off?
Man Utd host Villa at Old Trafford on Sunday 7 November at 4:30pm BST, live on Sky Sports Main Event and Premier League in the UK.
Stat Attack
- Man Utd have lost just one of their last seven league meetings against Villa (W5, D1, L1).
- Villa have won just one of their last 13 league trips to Man Utd (W1, D1, L11).
- Matheus Cunha scored in both of Man Utd’s league meetings against Villa last season (W1, L1).
- Man Utd have conceded five goals in their last two league matches without reply (L2).
- Boubacar Kamara has created more fouls than any other Villa player in the top flight this season (19).
Prediction
If Crystal Palace avoid defeat and Sunderland win in the mid-afternoon kick-offs, Man Utd actually could start this match rock bottom which would be unbelievable yet a demonstration of how far they’ve fallen this season and fans will undoubtedly be even harder on the team.
Utd though have to view their second-half comeback over AS Roma as a base to start turning things around and bring that intensity into this match, yet it can easily be a case of one step forward and another backwards with this lot which makes them unpredictable to guess.
Villa meanwhile were never likely to shock Barcelona and despite the 3-0 loss, they can be proud of how they took the fight to the Spanish champions and build on those lessons in this game, although Utd are their bogey club so this is a tough ask for them.
Utd’s defence though are missing Martinez but if Maguire is too sidelined then they are in trouble in terms of defensive leadership, which is something that Villa must capitalise upon by being more clinical than they have been in their last three matches in all competitions.
If Villa can do that then they should win but I just think that Utd will find a way to grind something out of this irrespective of whether it’s enough to save Michael Carrick’s job or not.
Prediction: Man Utd 1-1 Aston Villa
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