Manchester United vs Aston Villa Match Preview: Kick-off time, TV Channel, Team News and Score Prediction

Manchester United welcome Aston Villa to Old Trafford for their third-round Carabao Cup tie. United will be hoping they can fix the mistakes that lead to their 3-1 defeat at Villa Park last Sunday.

United will want to go deep in the Carabao cup to give themselves a chance of winning their first piece of silverware since 2017.

Competition: Carabao Cup
Venue: Old Trafford
Kick Off: 20:00 UK Time
Channel: Sky Sports

How do Manchester United Look?

United’s recent loss to Aston Villa in the Premier League ended their nine-game unbeaten stretch in all competitions. Erik ten Hag’s side were sloppy in the opening minutes of the match and Villa capitalised scoring two quick goals inside the first 12 minutes. United have been struggling to score goals in games and did so again at Villa Park. A Luke Shaw forced Jacob Ramsey’s own goal gave United a lifeline just before half time but Aston Villa came out of the break quicker and scored a third.

The Reds struggled to deal with Aston Villa’s press at times and the lack of attacking options due to injuries and suspension made it difficult for them to break down Unai Emery’s block. Donny van de Beek was given a start due to the suspension of Bruno Fernandes but failed to impact the game in a way many fans have been hoping he would since his transfer from Ajax in 2020.

Bruno Fernandes will be back in the team to face Aston Villa at Old Trafford having now served his suspension.

Neither Antony or Jadon Sancho have been seen in training this week and Raphael Varane is out until the World Cup with a hamstring injury.

Anthony Martial played his first minutes since his injury in the victory at Goodison Park in early October so it will be interesting to see whether Erik ten Hag deems him fit enough to start against Aston Villa.

Opponents: Aston Villa

The confidence in Aston Villa’s camp will be sky-high after their recent will against Manchester United in the league. The Villains already seemed to have the foundations of a typical Unai Emery team as they pressed United well in the early stages and then protected their lead well. They were clinical with their chances and proved to be an extremely tough team for United to overcome. Unai Emery thrives in knockout competitions and will be looking to send United crashing out of a tournament for the second time in two years.

United fans saw first-hand on Sunday the type of thread Leon Bailey can cause and the Jamaican winger could torment United’s defence again on Thursday. His pace and dribbling ability make him hard to dispossess and he certainly has an eye for goal, netting three goals for Villa so far this season making him their top scorer. Another threat United will have to be wary of is that of Jacob Ramsey. The English youngster has been making waves over the last few seasons and seems to be more than comfortable at senior level now. Two goals and two assists so far for the midfielder make him one of Villa’s most dangerous players so far this season.

Key Stats

Manchester United are unbeaten in their last five home games.

Aston Villa haven’t won an away game in their last five attempts.

Prediction

Manchester United’s recent performance against Aston Villa has thrown a spanner in the works but the side should still be confident of winning especially at Old Trafford. Erik ten Hag will view the loss as part of the process and should prepare his team to get back on track with a win against Aston Villa. The Villains cannot be counted out however, they will be confident they can knock United out of the competition after their recent victory and the boost of their new manager.

Manchester United 2-1 Aston Villa