Unai Emery will be without several players for Aston Villa's clash with Manchester United
Pau Torres of Aston Villa
Pau Torres of Aston Villa (Image: Offside via Getty Images)
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Aston Villa are expected to be without several players for their Premier League clash against Manchester United on Sunday.
Unai Emery’s side head into the match in search of their 10th successive victory across all competitions.
Villa have won 15 of their last 17 matches, while United arrive having won just two of their last seven games.
However, both of United’s recent victories came away from Old Trafford, with wins over Crystal Palace and Wolves in recent weeks.
Villa will be without at least four players on Sunday, with the possibility of a fifth absentee depending on how Emi Martinez feels heading into the weekend.
Jadon Sancho will be unavailable for this weekend’s fixture, as he is ineligible to face his parent club after joining Villa on loan from Man United on deadline day in the summer.
Emi Martinez
The goalkeeper has been managing a back injury for the past two weeks and missed matches against FC Basel and West Ham.
He did return to the starting lineup for the home game against Arsenal, before those games, having pulled out in the warm-up ahead of Brighton.
If Martínez does recover and is passed fit, it would be only his second appearance in Villa’s last five matches.
Possible return date: Sunday, December 21 (Man United - H)
Pau Torres
Villa are also set to be without both of their natural left-sided centre-backs, Tyrone Mings and Pau Torres, who are currently sidelined with injuries.
Torres came off late on in Villa's victory over Arsenal, and wasn't included in either squad to face Basel or West Ham last week.
Following the win at the London Stadium, Emery said he was hopeful both defenders would return within two weeks, potentially in time for next Saturday’s match against Chelsea.
Possible return date: Saturday, December 27 (Chelsea - A)
Tyrone Mings
Mings has been unavailable since Villa's last defeat, which came at Liverpool on November 1.
He, along with Torres, will hopefully soon return to training ahead of returning to action.
Possible return date: Saturday, December 27 (Chelsea - A)
Ross Barkley
Ross Barkley is also dealing with an injury, but he is not expected to return until around February.
He sprained his knee in Villa's 1-0 win over Wolves.
Possible return date: Saturday, February 7 (Bournemouth - A)
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