Manchester United are expected to be without key attackers for Sunday’s trip to Villa Park, whilst Aston Villa are hopeful of the return of two sidelined players.
The Red Devils will be keen to extend their unbeaten run to 10 games in all competitions when they take on the Midlands side away from home tomorrow.
It is newly-appointed Unai Emery’s first match in charge of Villa and the Spaniard suffered two defeats when coming up against United last season in the Champions League as Villareal manager.
The two teams will then meet again at Old Trafford on Thursday for a Carabao Cup tie.
The Reds are on the back of a 1-0 win against West Ham in the Premier League, which boosted their position in the league table to fifth place, only one point behind fourth-placed Newcastle and three points behind Tottenham Hotspur in third with a game in hand.
Man Utd team news
A significant loss for United is Bruno Fernandes, who misses the trip after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season against the Irons, consequently suspending him from the fixture.
Antony missed the team’s last two matches with a knock and Jadon Sancho was ruled out of United’s midweek clash with Real Sociedad. Anthony Martial also returned to team training after a lengthy spell on the sidelines but is a doubt to feature tomorrow.
In a pre-match press conference via the Man Utd website, Ten Hag said regarding the attackers’ availability: “It’s difficult to say in this moment. I have to talk with the medical and the performance team as they did a programme in Manchester. I have to hear how their progress was and if they can be available for Sunday’s match.”
Aston Villa team news
Emery is hopeful of both Boubacar Kamara and Ludwig Augustinsson featuring for the Villans tomorrow after returning to training this week. The Sweden international had been sidelined with a hamstring injury, whilst Kamara had suffered knee ligament damage against Southampton on September 16. The midfielder has returned to fitness much earlier than expected, as he was initially ruled out until after the World Cup.
