Aston Villa-Manchester United is a match of the 24th day of the Premier League and is played on Sunday at 5:30 pm: live TV, probable formations, predictions.
Erik ten Hag for the moment has managed to stave off the criticism aimed at him in the first part of the season, which for his Manchester United was a disaster. Amidst a thousand difficulties, however, the Red Devils are coping in this first part of 2024, which sees them still undefeated.
Bruno Fernandes and his teammates have made it through two rounds of the FA Cup by beating teams from the lower categories, Wigan and Newport, but in the Premier League, in addition to avoiding defeat to Tottenham (2-2), they have returned to win two consecutive matches. First the shocking 4-3 at Molineux against Wolverhampton, then the very clear 3-0 win over West Ham, a direct contender for Europe. It was precisely the rounded success against the Hammers that rekindled the flame of hope. Despite continuous ups and downs and some terrifying performances, Manchester United-remember, out of all European cups-is still in the running for fifth place, which from this season could be worth a pass to the Champions League. It needs to make up ground against Tottenham, which has six more points. But it will be crucial to suck Aston Villa, to date the fourth force in the tournament after Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal, into the tussle as well.
Villans in decline
In the last Sunday postponement, ten Hag’s men will be the guests of the Villans themselves at Villa Park, a stadium where Unai Emery’s team has an almost unblemished performance (9 wins, one draw and one defeat).
Aston Villa, however, in the new year did not particularly shine. And the two home defeats between the league and FA Cup to Newcastle and Chelsea (both 3-1) raise some concerns. Basically in the month of January McGinn and co. got the better of only Burnley and Sheffield United, respectively second and last in the standings, and Middlesbrough, a club participating in the cadet league. Emery in the direct clash with the Red Devils will be without Konsa, Digne, Buendia and Mings. On the other side, however, ten Hag will line up Casemiro with Mainoo in the midfield, but worrying is the new injury suffered by Lisandro Martinez.
The Prediction
In four of the last five previous matches both teams have scored and it cannot be ruled out that the trend will continue in the Villa Park challenge. Manchester United is looking for confirmation but must do everything possible to at least avoid defeat to prevent the gap to Aston Villa from widening even further. There will be no shortage of entertainment in Birmingham.
The likely lineups for Aston Villa-Manchester United
ASTON VILLA (4-4-2): Martinez; Cash, Diego Carlos, Lenglet, Moreno; McGinn, Kamara, Douglas Luiz, Bailey; Diaby, Watkins.
MANCHESTER UNITED (4-2-3-1): Onana; Dalot, Varane, Maguire, Shaw; Mainoo, Casemiro; Garnacho, Bruno Fernandes, Rashford; Hojlund.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 2-2
