Manchester United will be looking to make it two wins in a week over Aston Villa as the Reds travel to Villa Park on Saturday evening.
Whilst United enjoyed triumph in the FA cup on Monday evening, Ralf Rangnick’s men were hardly convincing and things could have been very different had Danny Ings’ equaliser not been ruled out by VAR.
In the few days since the cup encounter, Steven Gerrard has bolstered his squad with the arrivals of Philippe Coutinho and Lucas Digne, perhaps making United’s task more complicated.
There is no doubt that Gerrard will be aiming for a top half finish despite the fact that his side sit 14th in the Premier League after 19 matches of the 2021/22 campaign.
United’s previous league encounter ended up in disappointment after Wolves toppled the Reds 1-0 at Old Trafford.
The defeat to Wolves put a large dent in United’s top four aspirations and left the team shot of confidence. However, the cup victory of Villa would have sparked some confidence although the performance was still lacking.
The Reds are currently seventh in the table, six points behind fourth placed West Ham, with two games in hand on the Hammers, they are very much still in the hunt for Champions League football next season.
On Wednesday night, Cristiano Ronaldo attempted to rally his teammates in an interview with Sky Sports where he said: “I don’t accept that our mentality is less than being in the top three in the Premier League.”
The Red Devils have three hugely decisive fixtures with Aston Villa, West Ham and Brentford all to come over the next week. Those three fixtures end the month with certain players leaving on international duty at the end of January.
Saturday earmarks an awfully important fixture for United – the focus will be on collecting three points and applying pressure to Tottenham and Arsenal who face each other on Sunday afternoon.
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Ralf Rangnick will be without Scott McTominay and Luke Shaw on Saturday evening with both players suspended for one match. Villa have also fallen victim to the suspension system with midfielder John McGinn also missing the game.
Ronaldo missed the FA cup game against Villa due to a ‘minor muscle issue’ but should be available for selection again on Saturday. Club captain Harry Maguire should be back available after he trained on Thursday with his teammates. Phil Jones was more rested against Villa on Monday rather than being injured and could be in contention to start tomorrow, reported Laurie Whitwell in midweek.
Eric Bailly and Paul Pogba remain United’s only definite absentees with Bailly away on international duty with Ivory Coast – competing in the AFCON. Paul Pogba is still nursing a hamstring injury that has worsened since his return back to Carrington.
Gerrard could well hand a debut to ex-Liverpool player Phillipe Coutinho but Villa will be without Bertrand Traore and Trezeguet due to their involvement in the African Cup Of Nations. Leon Bailey is also on his way back from a thigh injury and won’t be fit for the game. Marvelous Nakamba is also a few weeks away from being match fit after picking up a knee problem. Ex-Red Ashley Young could be in line to start after returning from a foot injury.
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United and Villa only met a matter of days ago and although the Midlands side proved to be tough opposition, it was the Reds who came out on top with a 1-0 victory. Scott McTominay’s well directed eighth minute header was enough to separate the two sides.
Villa are now on a three game losing streak after suffering losses to United, Brentford and Chelsea. The Villains have won four of the nine games that Gerrard has been in charge of.
As for the Reds, Rangnick will be keen to see his side cast their most recent league game in the shadows with a victory. The defeat to Wolves last time out was one of frustration with the interim manager claiming he ‘hated’ the performance and hopes that there is ‘a completely different performance’ which shows the team being more ‘proactive and aggressive’.
