Aston Villa's festive fixture gripe, Man United's record in B6, Victor Lindelof's impact and Alysson posts message
Aston Villa earned their ninth successive win at West Ham on Sunday
Aston Villa earned their ninth successive win at West Ham on Sunday
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It feels odd not preparing for a midweek match, but Aston Villa will welcome the chance to take stock of their remarkable recent form.
This weekend, they face Manchester United - a club that has caused more misery for Villa fans than most - but confidence is certainly flowing at the moment.
Twice coming from behind to beat West Ham 3-2 at the London Stadium, Villa have now won 15 of their last 17 games, including nine in a row.
The game against West Ham was Villa’s seventh in just three weeks, with their last ‘midweek off’ coming before a defeat at Liverpool last month.
Chelsea and Arsenal fixture gripe
Villa will have another midweek break next week before facing Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and then Arsenal. However, the hectic schedule returns soon, with those two matches in London just 75 hours apart.
After playing at Arsenal on a Tuesday, Villa host Nottingham Forest on Saturday, January 3, with a 12:30pm kickoff. Crystal Palace away follows a few days later, before Villa travel to Tottenham for the FA Cup Third Round on Saturday, January 10.
There is some frustration at Villa that they must play both Chelsea and Arsenal away in quick succession over the festive period. In the Premier League, half of the teams will play two home matches in matchweeks 18 and 19, while the other half play away. Villa have drawn the short straw, facing two of the toughest away fixtures in the division.
Man United next up...
This makes securing a 10th consecutive win this weekend all the more important as United head to Villa Park.
Villa have won just one of their last 26 Premier League home games against the Red Devils, beating them 3-1 in November 2022 in Unai Emery’s first match in charge. United, meanwhile, have won 41 Premier League games against Villa, 18 of those away. Only United themselves have beaten a single opponent more times both overall and on the road (42 overall, 19 away vs. Everton).
United come into this match on the back of a dramatic 4-4 draw with Bournemouth at Old Trafford but have enjoyed a few solid results on the road recently. Ruben Amorim’s side have won their last two away Premier League games, last winning three in a row in February 2024. They’ve also scored at least twice in each of their last five away matches, a feat last achieved consecutively between June and December 2020.
Bruno Fernandes has been in fine form, assisting in each of his last five away Premier League appearances. Should he add another assist this weekend, he would become the first player in Premier League history to assist in six consecutive away games.
The Portuguese midfielder has also scored and assisted in each of his last two Premier League appearances - the only Manchester United player to do so in three consecutive games is Ryan Giggs, in April 2003.
Amorim will be without Casemiro due to suspension, while Bryan Mbeumo, Amad Diallo, and Noussair Mazraoui are absent because of their AFCON commitments.
“Amad and Mbeumo will go for the AFCON now. We will try to find a solution with the players that we have,” Amorim said.
“We are ready to cope. We will try to find a way to score the goals in a different way.”
Emery hails Lindelof's impact
Villa’s Victor Lindelof will face his former club, Manchester United, for the first time this weekend and is expected to start alongside Ezri Konsa again.
Lindelof was one of Villa’s standout performers in their recent wins against FC Basel and West Ham. He assisted Morgan Rogers’ winner against the Hammers on Sunday and completed 62 of 69 passes - a 90% success rate - while also winning all three of his aerial duels.
Since joining Villa on a free transfer following the expiry of his United contract last summer, Lindelof has proven to be a very shrewd acquisition for the club.
“Fantastic. Fantastic. We signed him for it. He showed his experience today,” Emery said of the Swede after beating West Ham.
“Playing in our structure, he was comfortable and calm with the ball in the build-up,” Emery said of Lindelof.
“It is not easy in the build-up on the left side when he is right-footed. He managed the passes we needed from him to the next players. He did fantastic.
“The last 20 minutes we defended a lot of time with the ball. This is a difficult personality to achieve as a team. We want to get a mentality to do it.
“We did concede a goal building up in possession in the first minute. It was a real mistake, but we must accept it.”
Alysson posts Villa message
It’s only 16 days until the opening of the January transfer window, and Villa have been preparing in recent weeks.
Brazilian winger Alysson is expected to be one of their new signings, with Villa having agreed a deal to bring him from Gremio.
At just 19 years old, it is unclear exactly what Villa’s short-term plan for him will be, but he is certainly regarded as a promising prospect by the club.
On Sunday, shortly after Morgan Rogers scored his second goal of the match to put Emery’s side 3-2 in front, Alysson shared an Instagram story showing himself watching Villa’s win on TV, captioned simply: “Domingo.”
The winger is expected to complete his move to Villa soon and will travel to the UK to undergo a medical.
Claret & Blue catch-up
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