Joao Gomes in action for Aston Villa, with Unai Emery in a circular frame inset
Joao Gomes in action for Aston Villa, with Unai Emery in a circular frame inset
The Villans will take on Michael Carrick's side at Old Trafford at the weekend, with hopes to extend their five-game unbeaten run in the Premier League.
Unai Emery's men will have to recover quickly after losing 3-0 to Barcelona in the Champions League at the Nou Camp on Tuesday, and some changes may need to be made.
Man United won their first game in nine during the week, beating Roma 3-2 late on to complete a comeback in the Champions League.
Carrick has been on the brink of losing his job after the Red Devils' recent form, but Villa could pile the misery back on by beating them on their own turf for the first time since September 2021.
Ahead of the match, Aston Villa News predicts how Emery could line up his side at Old Trafford.
Joao Gomes chucked out as Unai Emery makes centre-back call
Zion Suzuki had a bad game against Barcelona, misplacing eight of his 14 attempted long balls, but Emery is still likely to give him the nod at the weekend.
Ian Maatsen and Matty Cash are both predicted to be the full-backs at Old Trafford, which will hopefully be an easier outing for them than it was at Nou Camp. The pair were both dribbled past three times in Catalonia.
While Pau Torres is predicted to start, the first change could come with Victor Lindelof, who made just four defensive contributions against Barcelona, earning a poor 5.8 FotMob score.
Taylor Harwood-Bellis could step in at Old Trafford, despite having only played 180 minutes for Villa so far, with none of them coming in the Premier League.
Perhaps one of the more likely moves that Emery could make is potentially swapping out Joao Gomes for Leon Goretzka after the former's stinker during the week.
The Brazilian midfielder just hasn't been a hit at Villa Park so far, and while he looks shaky on the ball, he doesn't do enough off it either, winning only 45 per cent of his duels in the league.
Boubacar Kamara covered the most distance of any player at the Nou Camp (7.3m) and made the joint-most defensive actions (11). He's predicted to start in midfield next to Goretzka against Man United.
Emery makes bold attacking change to bamboozle Michael Carrick
Carrick has already shown his tactical frailties and inability to change a game plan.
That's the perfect reason why Ibrahim Mbaye could start against the Red Devils, with Emi Buendia potentially dropping out of the team.
Mbaye had 100 per cent accurate dribbles in his 28-minute appearance against Barcelona, creating two chances for his teammates and boasting an 88 per cent passing accuracy.
The 18-year-old is never fearful regardless of the opposition and would be a great curveball for Emery to use against Man United.
Johan Manzambi is predicted to start in attacking midfield, while John McGinn could also start on the right.
Nicolas Jackson scores an average of 0.70 goals per 90 minutes in the Premier League, taking 2.95 shots each match, with 1.26 of them on target.
Emery will most likely select the Senegal international as his striker at the weekend.
Aston Villa predicted XI vs Man United: Suzuki; Maatsen, Torres, Harwood-Bellis, Cash; Kamara, Goretzka; Mbaye, Manzambi, McGinn; Jackson