Taking up their positions in the away end this afternoon, Manchester United's supporters could be forgiven for having flashbacks to their last visit to Villa Park.
Fresh from having edged past Villa in the FA Cup five days earlier at Old Trafford, United were on course to get the better of the Midlands outfit for the second time in less than a week and register their first Premier League win of 2022. Bruno Fernandes had scored either side of the half-time interval and with just 23 minutes of normal time left on the clock they were coasting towards a routine away win.
However, just a minute after Fernandes scored his second goal, then-Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard reacted by making a substitution that injected fresh energy into his team and into the stands. Philippe Coutinho, who had been signed on loan from Barcelona a few days earlier, was brought on for his debut, giving the whole of Villa Park a much-needed lift.
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Just nine minutes later, Villa halved the deficit, pulling a goal back through youngster Jacob Ramsey. Villa, understandably, had their tails up and were sniffing blood. Four minutes later, they were back on level terms, as a result of Coutinho getting into the right place at the right time to tap the ball home.
The Brazilian, who went on to join Villa on a permanent basis in the summer, had changed the game in the blink of an eye. His presence, such was the excitement that had greeted his arrival at the club a few days earlier, raised the volume levels at Villa Park, meaning that transpired onto the pitch, raising the home side's intensity, leaving United left to rue what might have been.
It was a two disastrous points dropped, as United had looked so comfortable and confident up until Coutinho's introduction. Unfortunately for the Reds, they are likely to have combat the same level of adrenaline and excitement from the home crowd once again this afternoon, albeit in different circumstances, as they greet another new arrival.
This time, Unai Emery, who was the brains behind Villarreal's Europa League final victory over United in Gdansk in May last year, will take charge of Villa for the first time, meaning there is going to be a sense of energy and optimism around Villa Park, creating a potentially unknown situation for United. The Reds, who have been on an excellent run of late, will arrive in the Midlands full of confidence, but a lack of information on how Villa are likely to play at the start of a new regime risks catching them by surprise.
United will not have been able to analyse the opposition in such a way that they usually do, given that Emery is yet to take charge of his first game and give any sort of indication of how Villa are likely to play under him. However, there is no doubt that Erik ten Hag will have studied Villa so far this season and Villarreal's last few performances under Emery's watch.
While it is possible that United could get sucked into playing the occasion, such is the atmosphere that is likely to be generated by Emery's arrival, which, similarly to Coutinho's, has been considered a coup, they just need to focus on themselves, as big a footballing cliche as that might be. United have improved significantly in a very short space of time under Ten Hag, all while becoming mentally stronger.
The Reds have dug deep in recent weeks to get vital points on the board, such as when they went right to the end to rescue a draw against Chelsea and survived attacking onslaughts in the latter stages of their narrow wins over both Everton and West Ham United. Last season, United would not have fought back at Stamford Bridge after falling behind so late on, and they wouldn't have been able to withstand the attacking bombardments that they were put under while trying to protect a lead.
With that in mind, United are a much stronger and more measured team than they were the last time they visited Villa Park. There is no denying that Villa will offer a stern test, despite their lowly league position, but the Reds have an opportunity to show just how far they have come this season by remaining professional and not getting caught up in what promises to be a lively occasion from the home side's persuasion.
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