Manchester United shared the spoils against Bournemouth in a thrilling 4-4 Premier League draw at Old Trafford on Monday night.
The Red Devils took the lead on three separate occasions yesterday, but they were let down by some poor defending.
Despite the result, United are just two points adrift of fourth-placed Chelsea and need to return to winning ways on Sunday.
They face a daunting challenge on their hands against an in-form Aston Villa outfit, who have won their last six league games.
United will go into the contest at Villa Park as slight underdogs, and manager Ruben Amorim could decide to change his formation.
The Athletic report that Amorim was vigorously working on a new 4-3-3 defensive system prior to the stalemate on Monday.
We did not see the formation come to fruition yesterday, but it could happen this weekend with the absence of some key stars.
Noussair Mazraoui, Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo have reported for Africa Cup of Nations duty and may not return for a while.
Mazraoui and Amad have been important figures in the right wing-back and right centre-back positions for the club in recent weeks.
With Harry Maguire and Matthijs de Ligt also injured, it could be time for Amorim to ditch his regular three-at-the-back system.
With Mazraoui and Amad away on international duty, it seems a no-brainer decision to start Diogo Dalot on the right side of defence.
Dalot’s form has been fantastic in recent outings from left wing-back and he has become an undroppable figure under Amorim.
His move to right-back could pave the way for Luke Shaw to start on the opposite end ahead of the inconsistent Patrick Dorgu.
Shaw has featured as a left centre-back this season, and Amorim has resisted playing him from the left wing-back position thus far.
The 30-year-old is one of the best left-backs on his day and could finally get an opportunity to re-establish himself in his best role.
Meanwhile, Leny Yoro had a poor outing against the Cherries. He was anxious and caught out of position at different stages in the first half.
The Frenchman was partly responsible for the Evanilson goal. He should have intercepted the pass instead of trying to play an offside trap.
Yoro was taken off for Lisandro Martinez in the 69th minute, and we believe he could be dropped from the starting line-up at Villa Park.
In that case, Amorim could go with Ayden Heaven and Martinez as his centre-backs on Sunday.
Heaven has been much more assured than Yoro and has caught the eye with his ball-playing ability and strong aerial presence.
Martinez, who was signed from Ajax for £57 million, has been slowly building up his fitness with cameo appearances. He could finally be unleashed from the starting XI.
We anticipate Amorim to field a back four of Shaw, Martinez, Heaven and Dalot against Villa.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com