Aston Villa vs Manchester United: Match preview, team news, predicted line-ups, key players, and match prediction

After defeating six-time Champions League winners Bayern Munich in the week, Aston Villa will be looking to take that momentum into another hugely important game this weekend. The Villans will host out-of-sorts Manchester United at Villa Park, knowing a win will help everyone forget about the previous disappointment on the road at Ipswich Town. A win for Villa would take them to 16 points and more than likely leave them sat in the top four, whereas victory for United would help them get their season going, as they currently sit 13th in the Premier League.

Head-to-head record

Manchester United could certainly be considered as a bogey team for Aston Villa, whose record against the Red Devils is not a strong one. Since their first meeting in 1892, Manchester United have claimed victory 54% of the time (106 wins from 198 fixtures) while Villa possess a 26% win record.

In more recent times, since the beginning of the 21st century, Aston Villa has beaten Manchester United just three times from 52 attempts. Gabby Agbonlahor's goal in 2009 saw Villa beat the Red Devils at Old Trafford for the first time since 1983, and Villa has since won just one more game away at United thanks to Kourtney Hause's goal and Bruno Fernandes's penalty miss in 2021.

Thanks to @AVFCStatto you can see the five most recent results from this meeting. One of Steven Gerrard's most positive performances as Villa manager saw his team salvage a 2-2 draw at Villa Park courtesy of a late cameo from Philip Coutinho on debut. Unai Emery's first game in charge of the club saw Villa defeat Erik Ten Hag's men 3-1 at Villa Park in a dominating performance and a sign of things to come for the club. However, despite being the much superior team last season, evidenced by their final league positions, Villa suffered defeat to Manchester United both home and away last year. Despite taking a 2-0 lead at Old Trafford on Boxing Day last year, Villa fell to defeat and they were dealt the same result in February despite being the much better team on the day.

Erik Ten Hag clinging on for dear life

If you were to ask Manchester United fans for their opinion on United manager Erik Ten Hag, most would say it was a miracle he managed to keep a hold of his job at the end of last season. The 2-23/24 season saw Manchester United finish in 8th place, outside of the European places, and his job was ultimately saved by their FA Cup win over Manchester City.

Their 8th place finish under the Dutchman was their lowest since the modern-day Premier League was formed in 1992. The new season has also not brought much more hope for United fans. Currently sitting 13th in the Premier League after winning just two of their opening six games, the team look a real shadow of the giants that they once were under Sir Alex Ferguson.

United have not won any of their last four games in all competitions, and the last week has seen a humiliating 3-0 defeat at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford and the concession of a two-goal lead away to Porto in the Europa League. Captain Bruno Fernandes was also handed a red card in both of those games, but will be able to face Villa due to the successful appeal of his straight-red against Spurs.

Manchester United have been described as a 'spineless' team 'lacking identity' under Ten Hag, and Villa will hope that their clear superiority on the pitch will be evidence with a win on Sunday. A win for Villa could spell the end for Erik Ten Hag, with many fans calling for him to be sacked.

Team news

Despite a wonderful evening at Villa Park on Wednesday night, Villa were dealt some fresh injury blows. Jacob Ramsey was forced to withdraw after just half an hour of Villa's epic win over Bayern Munich with a groin injury. We do not yet know the extent of the seriousness of that injury, but he is certain to miss out on Sunday and could face up to six weeks on the sideline, according to @physioscout.

Leon Bailey was brought on in his place, and was then substitued off in the second half after a very poor performance. Bailey has not looked like the electric winger of last season, and Emery said in his post-match interview that the Jamaican is not match fit. Therefore, it is likely that a place on the bench is the best he can hope for this weekend.

John McGinn will remain out of action having missed the last two games with a hamstring problem, but should return fairly quickly after the upcoming international break. Matty Cash was named as a substitute in Villa's win over Bayern Munich following his four-week absence with a thigh problem. He is therefore fit and available to start. Amadou Onana was also forced to leave the pitch on Wednesday with an injury problem, but it is believed it was minor and he should be available for Sunday's game.

For Manchester United, Bruno Fernandes will be available despite his red card in the previous amtch against Tottenham. The club appealed that red card, and despite VAR at the time confirming the referee was correct to send him off, and the PGMOL have since overruled that decision to clear him to play. The Premier League as brilliant as always in it's officiating.

Kobbie Mainoo was forced off through injury in the defeat against Spurs and was not in the squad for United's trip to Porto, but it is believed he will be fit to play against Villa. He trained with the squad ahead of that Europa League game and was likely rested to allow more time to recover. Mason Mount also missed that trip to Portugal with a head injury but is likely to be ready for the visit to Villa Park.

Luke Shaw remains an absentee for Manchester United and hasn't featured on the pitch at all since England's Euro 2024 Final defeat to Spain. It is believed he will not be available until the end of October. New signing Leny Yoro is out for a long-period with a fractured foot bone. Young defender Tyrell Malacia is also unable to play this weekend.

Key players to watch

Villa fans were quick to name a player who had been left out of Lee Carsley's latest England squad, and that player was Morgan Rogers. The 22-year-old produced a scintillating display against Bayern Munich on Wednesday, in addition to his already brilliant performances this season. He scored his first goal of the season last time out against Ipswich Town and will be keen to run at a ropey Manchester United defence.

Diego Carlos has faced a lot of criticism from Aston Villa supporters this season, especially after a very poor performance against Ipswich. However, he lived up to his status as a "big-game" player on Wednesday after producing an epic defensive performance against Bayern. England captain Harry Kane was kept quiet by the Brazilian and he will hope to again produce that level of performance on Sunday.

For Manchester United, Bruno Fernandes is often the conductor of positive attacking football for the team. The United captain has also scored more goals against Aston Villa than any other Premier League club since joining the Red Devils in 2020. He has seven goals and two assists in his ten games against the claret and blue outfit.

Now that he is back fit and firing for Manchester United, Rasmus Hojlund could be the key to changing Manchester United's fortunes. The Danish forward scored in both of United's victories over Villa last season and he proved difficult to deal with. After scoring 16 goals in all competitions last year, he scored his first of the season on Thursday night against Porto and he will be keen to continue his decent record against Villa this weekend.

Predicted line-ups

Aston Villa: Martinez, Konsa, Carlos, Torres, Digne, Onana, Tielemans, Philogene, Maatsen, Rogers, Watkins

Manchester United: Onana, Mazraoui, de Ligt, Martinez, Dalot, Casmiro, Mainoo, Fernandes, Rashford, Garnacho, Hojlund

Match prediction

Aston Villa players and fans will still be living off the buzz of Wednesday night's epic victory over Bayern Munich, and will stand them in good stead for this game. Despite a poor record against Manchester United, I believe Villa's superiority as a team will result in a victory this weekend.

Aston Villa 3-1 Manchester United (Watkins, Rogers, Duran)

UTV