This afternoon’s titanic clash English Premier League clash at Villa Park between Aston Villa and Manchester United will be more than just three points for the visitors with Erik ten Hag’s job seemingly on the line.
The pressure is mounting on the Dutch mentor who’s looking to avoid a fifth game in a row without a win. The Red Devils went 2-0 up in their midweek Europa League clash against Porto but left with just a point with Harry Maguire’s 91st-minute strike rescuing a 3-3 draw away in Portugal.
Villa on the other hand occupy fifth spot and come into this tie full of confidence after a 1-0 win over Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
Despite a bad run for the United manager, Ten Hag has a good record against Villa having won four of their five meetings against the West Midlands side.
A huge plus for the visitors will be captain Bruno Fernandes’ availability after his red card against Tottenham was overturned following a successful appeal.
Here’s how both teams line up:
Villa Starting XI: MartÃnez (c), Konsa, Cash, Torres, Digne, Philogene, Barkley, Tielemans, Bailey, Rogers, Watkins
Subs: Gauci, Nedeljkovic, Maatsen, Carlos, Bogarde, Swinkels, Buendia, Young, Duran.
United Starting XI: Onana, Mazraoui, Maguire, Evans, Dalot, Eriksen, Mainoo, Garnacho, Fernandes (c), Rashford, Hojlund
Subs: Bayindir, De Ligt, Lindelof, Martinez, Casemiro, Ugarte, Amad, Anthony, Zirkzee.