Aston Villa v Manchester United: predicted line-up, team news and match preview

Aston Villa will take on Manchester United on Sunday in their final Premier League match before Christmas.

Villa are in an excellent run of form and have turned their home games into a genuine strength. Despite United being a far inferior version of what they used to be, the wrath of the football gods dictates that this fixture is the ultimate test of Villa’s credentials.

Unai Emery doesn’t care about the history of Villa’s matches against United and it’s just as well. The cloud of history will take some lifting on Sunday but if any Villa manager and any Villa team are capable of performing the feat, it’s this one.

The competing patterns affecting Villa v Man Utd

The positive. Villa have won nine matches in a row in the Premier League and Europa League combined, and therefore six in a row in the league.

That makes them the most in-form team in Europe’s top five leagues (Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and Ligue 1) and has lifted them to third place in the league table, three points behind leaders Arsenal.

It’s the first such run Villa have achieved in the Premier League era. Villa are riding the crest of a wave and anything is possible.

The negative. Villa have a horrific record against Manchester United. It’s like Crystal Palace’s record against Arsenal, only I actually care about it so it’s so much worse.

Let’s look at the evidence.

• No win in six meetings in all competitions.
• Two wins in 28 games in all competitions. Twenty. Eight.
• One win at Villa Park in the Premier League since August 1995 – and two in all competitions.
• Last season. Rancid.

Villa team news

United loanee Jadon Sancho is ineligible to play against his parent club on Sunday and Villa will also be without an injured trio.

Pau Torres was expected to be out for a week or so and is potentially in contention along with Ross Barkley, though given the timelines involved they might both be unlikely. Tyrone Mings will likely be back early in the new year as his recovery comes to an end.

After missing the away win against West Ham United, Villa have been assessing the fitness of goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez. He was apparently touch and go for the previous match, so we can assume he won’t be miles away from a return this weekend.

Villa predicted line-up v Man Utd

With the exception of the question mark over goalkeepers, my feeling is Emery will want to name an unchanged team as far as possible.

I’m betting Martínez makes the cut on Sunday and will come in for Marco Bizot, allowing the manager to bring his first choice in but otherwise keep the team the same as last weekend.

That would mean playing former United defender Victor Lindelöf to the left of Ezri Konsa at centre-back again, with Ian Maatsen staying in at left-back to make sure there are some legs at the back.

I’m expecting to see Youri Tielemans continue to play off Ollie Watkins to accommodate the pairing of Boubacar Kamara and Amadou Onana in the midfield double pivot.

Where to watch Villa v Man Utd

Villa’s home game against Manchester United will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event in the UK.

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➡️ How to watch Aston Villa v Manchester United: kick-off time, TV channels and streams

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