Manchester United welcome Aston Villa to Old Trafford this afternoon in a crunch Premier League top-four clash. Kick-off is at 2pm, though the game isn’t televised.
Heading into the match, United sit fourth place and Villa, sixth. Their resurgence under Unai Emery has been nothing short of extraordinary; Steven Gerrard had the side flirting with relegation and seen as real candidates to make the drop, now, they’ve got their sights firmly set on securing European football.
The Villans also boast a 10-game unbeaten streak, having overseen eight wins and two draws in that time.
On the other hand, the Reds’ form has faltered recently; they squandered a two-goal lead midweek against Tottenham Hotspur to eventually draw 2-2 – certainly a case of dropping two points rather than gaining one.
However, Old Trafford is slowly becoming a fortress again with Erik ten Hag in the dugout. If United are able to avoid defeat today, they’ll make it 27 games unbeaten on home turf.
Ten Hag previews Villa clash
Ten Hag previewed today’s outing in the match programme, saying (via Samuel Luckhurst): “When you look at Villa’s form in recent months there is no question that we will need to give absolutely everything to get our desired outcome this afternoon.”
