by
Manchester United’s bid to further cement a spot in the Premier League top four continues when they host high-flying Aston Villa on Sunday.
The Red Devils threw away a 2-0 lead to draw at Tottenham but remain six points ahead of both Spurs and Villa heading into the weekend.
The Villans continued their brilliant run with a slender 1-0 victory over Fulham. Only Manchester City have picked up more points in their last six games (18) than Villa (16).
Here’s the state of play heading into the clash at Old Trafford.
|
Country |
Television Channel/Live Stream |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
Not televised in UK (studio updates on Sky Sports News) |
|
United States |
Peacock |
|
Canada |
fuboTV Canada |
United had a number of injury issues before their draw with Tottenham but a similar starting XI is expected to the one that was deployed in midweek.
Harry Maguire was injured in training and probably won’t start even if he recovers in time, leaving Luke Shaw to partner Victor Lindelof again in defence.
Bruno Fernandes had been pictured in a protective boot but shook those fitness worries off and should start again here.
Man Utd predicted lineup (4-2-3-1): De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Shaw, Dalot; Casemiro, Eriksen; Antony, Fernandes, Sancho; Rashford.
Current Premier League table, top scorers & upcoming fixtures
Villans manager Unai Emery has little reason to meddle with his starting XI, having not tasted defeat since mid-February.
That said, he remains without Philippe Coutinho, Leon Bailey – who scored the first goal in Villa’s 3-1 win over United in November – Boubacar Kamara and Matty Cash.
Aston Villa predicted lineup (4-2-3-1): Martinez; Young; Konsa, Mings, Moreno; Dendoncker, Luiz; McGinn, Buendia, Ramsey; Watkins.
Man Utd were well beaten by Villa in Emery’s first game in charge and have a number of weak areas with injuries ruling out the likes of Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez. They looked sharp against Spurs before falling off in the second half, much to the anger of Erik ten Hag.
Villa have picked up wins on the road at Chelsea and Leicester in recent weeks and made a statement to the rest of the Premier League with their 3-0 thumping of Newcastle.
The visitors are definitely capable of leaving Old Trafford with all three points but United should bounce back from their midweek disappointment.
Prediction: Man Utd 2-1 Aston Villa
LISTEN NOW
On this edition of The Promised Land, part of the 90min podcast network, Scott Saunders & Rob Blanchette discuss what’s happened to Casemiro and Fred, Harry Kane showing his class against Man Utd and what’s in store when facing Aston Villa.
If you can’t see this embed, click here to listen to the podcast!
