Prediction and Preview: Manchester United vs Aston Villa

Manchester United face Aston Villa today looking to make it four wins in a row to kick-off pre-season. Erik ten Hag has put together a strong team for all four preseason games, and he should do the same for this match. Last season, Villa was a tough opponent for United. The Red Devils only got one point from their two league games against Villa, but they did win 1-0 in the FA Cup.

The Red Devils have beaten Liverpool, Melbourne Victory, and Crystal Palace in their three pre-season games this summer, while Villa have beaten Walsall, Leeds United, and Brisbane Roar in their three games since the conclusion of last season.

Before travelling back to Europe for friendlies with Atletico Madrid and Rayo Vallecano the following weekend, the 20-time English champions will round up this phase of their pre-season tour with a match versus Villa in Perth.

Martial, Rashford, and Sancho have all impressed this summer, scoring seven goals between them across the team’s three matches. This is despite the fact that Manchester United are still working on a deal to acquire Frenkie de Jong from Barcelona, even though they do not have Cristiano Ronaldo in their lineup because of the uncertainty surrounding his future.

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag was unable to specify a timeframe for Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to training, but stated that he will be “integrated” back into the group. Ronaldo did not report for pre-season training owing to a family matter, and thus missed United’s pre-season trip to Thailand and Australia. United return to Manchester next week, facing Atletico Madrid in Oslo on July 30 and Rayo Vallecano the following day at Old Trafford, although it is unknown if Ronaldo will be available for selection.

Ten Hag discusses the tour’s commercial aspects: “It’s now a part of football. You have to embrace that as a manager, as a team, and make the best of it – which is exactly what we did. I believe it’s fantastic for developing team spirit since you’re together for so long. Because you are so close together, you have a lot of time to work with your colleagues, and I would think that it is fantastic to have that experience. There are obvious drawbacks, but as a professional, you must cope with them.”

Squad and Team News 

Villa are undefeated on their pre-season tour and may present a difficult test for Ten Hag’s side on Saturday. Manager Steven Gerrard is aiming for a strong finish in their final game of the Australia trip. Gerrard is impressed by Coutinho and thinks that his former Liverpool teammate, as well as the academy youngsters, can improve their game and pose a danger to the top six.

Gerrard stated: “We’re excited about the game since it’s the final push of the trip. So far, the trip has been amazing, and we want to end on a positive note. We’re a couple of weeks away from a crucial start to the season, so we need to ratchet it up now. We’ll give somebody a little more game time now because it’s the proper moment, and they’re ready because they’ve got the correct volume in their legs to really push specific people.”

It would not be shocking if Ten Hag starts his best XI against Villa, as the manager like to give his first-choice players as many minutes as possible, as shown against Crystal Palace on Tuesday. In the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo, who has yet to join the squad and wants to leave Old Trafford, the Dutch manager may stay with the front three of Jadon Sancho, Anthony Martial, and Marcus Rashford, who have played well in previous friendly matches.

“We have a team, and as you know, we don’t have much time. We must be prepared for the 7th of August. We have veteran players on the team, but we also wanted to give some new guys an opportunity. I can’t give all of the young players the opportunities they deserve because we need to build a team ” stated Ten Hag.

Manchester United’s potential starting lineup: Van de Beek, Fernandes, De Gea, Dalot, Martial, Sancho, Maguire, Lindelof, Shaw, Fred, Rashford.

Aston Villa’s potential starting lineup: Kamara, Coutinho, Martinez, Cash, Carlos, Watkins, Ings, Mings, Digne, McGinn. 

Prediction: This could be an exciting game between two teams in excellent form, but we believe United will win. They’ve been terrific thus far, and we don’t see them faltering against Gerrard’s men.