Manchester United will be looking to return to winning ways when they take on Aston Villa in the Premier League at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon.
The Reds go into the game on the back of a disappointing 1-0 defeat to West Ham in the League Cup midweek, whilst the visitors were also knocked out of the competition after losing to Chelsea on penalties.
Head coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is widely expected to make a host of changes to his starting eleven to face Aston Villa, with Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba all set to return.
In what has been a disappointing week at Old Trafford, Saturday’s game against Aston Villa gives United a perfect opportunity to put Wednesdays defeat behind them and in doing so help get the Reds back on track.
The League Cup was never going to be top of United’s wish list this season and although it was disappointing to go out of the competition, it must not take away from the fact that the Reds have still made a terrific start to the new campaign and that victory on Saturday will take United back to the top of the Premier League table.
Villa have made a mixed start to the new campaign under Dean Smith and currently sit in tenth in the table and although the midlands club may have lost their star man Jack Grealish over the summer they are still a real threat and United will have to be at their very best should they wish to take all three points on Saturday.
Games in the past have never been easy against Aston Villa and I expect Saturday to be no different. Villa have never been a team shy of going forward and I feel that could play into United’s hands.
With Villa likely to attack United it will leave plenty of holes at the back for the likes of Ronaldo, Fernandes and co to take full advantage of and if United can grab a goal particularly early on it could go a long way to decide the outcome of the game and help the Reds get the victory they need to move back to the top of the table.
Prediction: Manchester United 2-1 Aston Villa
