As the pressure continues to mount on Erik ten Hag in the Manchester United dugout, the Dutch coach could well be out of a job if his side fall to defeat at the hands of Aston Villa on Sunday.
The Red Devils have made a truly dismal start to Ten Hag’s third campaign in charge, with any good-will left over from last season’s FA Cup triumph having dissipated. Following an underwhelming 3-3 draw with Porto in the Europa League midweek, time is running out for the former Ajax manager.
A Premier League trip to an in-form and confident Aston Villa side is the last thing Ten Hag would have wanted before the October international break. The Villans are already six points better off than Man Utd this season and head into Sunday’s clash off the back of a memorable and hard-fought 1-0 win over Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
Unai Emery has proven himself to be everything that Ten Hag hasn’t at Man Utd, but it was the latter who enjoyed the last laugh in last season’s meetings. Late goals home and away helped Man Utd do the double over the Midlands side in two dramatic fixtures.
Aston Villa predicted lineup vs Man Utd (4-4-2): Martinez; Konsa, Carlos, Torres, Digne; Philogene, Onana, Tielemans, Buendia; Rogers, Watkins.
Man Utd predicted lineup vs Aston Villa (4-2-3-1): Onana; Mazraoui, Maguire, Martinez, Dalot; Mainoo, Eriksen; Garnacho, Fernandes, Rashford; Hojlund.
