Manchester United are aiming to get back to winning ways in the Premier League, with Erik ten Hag desperately chasing his next three points as the pressure mounts on the Dutchman.
United have failed to score in their last four games in all competitions and last weekend’s 2-0 defeat to West Ham was United’s 13th this season – a tally only matched in 1930 this early in a season.
The season is certainly not matching the expectations going into it and Ten Hag faces another huge test on Boxing Day as Unai Emery’s Aston Villa make the trip to Old Trafford.
The Villa Park club were one point off the Premier League summit going into the round and come to Old Trafford as favourites.
Ten Hag has made a number of changes from the side that lost at West Ham, with Marcus Rashford reintroduced after a brief spell on the sidelines.
Kobbie Mainoo keeps his place after a string of impressive performances, with Christian Eriksen partnering the youngster.
Willy Kambwala made his Reds debut at the London Stadium in Raphael Varane’s absence but the Frenchman returns tonight.
Speaking ahead of the game, Ten Hag explained some of the thinking behind his decisions, explaining that Rashford had been battling illness for an extended period, which could have explained his spell on the bench.
“First of all, he was [for] a period, ill but also to take into account very good performances from Garnacho,” Ten Hag told Amazon, via the official Manchester United website.
“Also we have to recognise, we couldn’t score and he is a scoring player. We try to find solutions, playing Garnacho on the right and Marcus coming off the left, with Hojlund in the middle and Bruno close nearby to those three strikers.
“We hope to find solutions there, [with] their creativity, speed and they have to play very direct.”
Victory for the Reds could be a huge catalyst for change in what has been a miserable season so far. Another defeat could cause irreversible damage.