Manchester United will look for a result that could take some pressure off manager Erik ten Hag on Sunday when they visit Aston Villa, which is coming off its best European win in decades.
The Red Devils (2-3-1, 7 points) have now gone four matches in all competitions — and two in the league — without a victory to drop to 13th place entering Matchday 7 of the Premier League campaign.
However, there might be some sense of injustice after their 3-0 home defeat last weekend to Tottenham. The match started poorly with ten Hag’s group giving up a goal in the third minute and then became a one-sided affair when Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes was sent off before halftime.
The Premier League has since overturned referee Chris Kavanagh’s decision to dismiss the influential Portuguese attacker for a high tackle. Fernandes will be available Sunday in the Midlands.
But ten Hag concedes that harsh refereeing decision alone can’t explain a recent slide that has also featured two draws to begin the UEFA Europa League, most recently 3-3 at FC Porto on Thursday night in Manchester United’s second league phase game.
“We have to improve, that is for sure,” ten Hag said. “But also, you can say we were very disciplined and for the first 25 minutes (against Spurs) in positioning. We created chances, at the right moment, we speeded up the game so it was not just indiscipline. Definitely, we can improve and we have to improve if we want to make it a success.”
Manchester United will visit a Villa side flying high after its 1-0 home win over German giants Bayern Munich in their UEFA Champions League clash Wednesday. The contest was decided by substitute Jhon Duran’s stunning strike in the 79th minute.
The win kept Villa (4-1-1, 13 points) perfect in the UCL league phase as they seek to avoid the fate that befell Newcastle United and Brighton and Hove Albion last season. Both played in Europe last campaign — Newcastle after an extended layoff, Brighton making its first continental appearance — and both regressed in the league standings.
“To be consistent in the Premier League is the first objective I have,” Villa manager Unai Emery said. “We are playing Champions League and we enjoyed it a lot on Wednesday and the first match we played in Bern. We won two matches and we have six points, but it’s not changing my mind or my perspective.”
With four league goals scored as a substitute, Duran could be a candidate to make his first start if Emery opts to rotate his squad in the final league game before the October international break.
–Field Level Media