Manchester United hits the road to take on Aston Villa at Villa Park this weekend in a potentially pivotal match for the club's future.
The English giant is on a winless run of four matches across all competitions with draws against Crystal Palace, FC Twente and Porto FC and a humbling defeat to Tottenham Hotspur. The Red Devils were up 2–0 against Porto in the Europa League league phase in 20 minutes but Erik ten Hag's side faltered conceding twice before halftime to surrender their lead.
Ex-Atlético Madrid striker Samu Omorodion capped off his brace in the second half to put Porto in front and turn the match on its head. Porto appeared to have overcome a 2–0 deficit until Harry Maguire's stoppage-time header rescued a point.
Maguire's late goal just might've bought Ten Hag a little more time but then again, it was still two points dropped in the end for United. In the Premier League, things aren't looking much better collecting just seven points from six matches sitting in 13th place.
The away trip to Villa Park could make or break Ten Hag's tenure at Old Trafford. Should United pull off an improbable win, it'll improve his standing with the board. However, if United comes away empty-handed this weekend—especially if it performs similarly to the Spurs match—it seems as if Ten Hag's firing would be a matter of when, not if.
Manchester United Predicted Lineup vs. Aston Villa (4-2-3-1)
GK: André Onana—The Cameroon international starts in goal for United, looking to rebound after back-to-back subpar showings.
RB: Noussair Mazraoui—The ex-Bayern Munich full-back gets the start once again.
CB: Matthijs de Ligt—De Ligt needs to step up and play a part in a clean sheet bringing stability to the defense.
CB: Lisandro Martínez—The Argentine defender hopes to put in a better performance after a string of poor showings.
LB: Diogo Dalot—Dalot started the new season off in solid form but has struggled to play his part in the last few matches.
DM: Manuel Ugarte—Ten Hag chose to keep Ugarte on the bench against Porto. His fresh legs will be needed against Villa's midfield.
DM: Casemiro—Casemiro played the full 90 minutes in the midweek contest, he gets the start once again.
RW: Alejandro Garnacho—The young winger should be fit to feature from the jump against Villa after coming off the bench against Porto.
AM: Bruno Fernandes—Since his red card against Tottenham was overturned, Fernandes is available for selection and should start as the team's primary creative player.
LW: Marcus Rashford—Rashford was taken off at halftime against Villa in order to preserve his fitness for the weekend contest.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Manchester United Predicted Lineup vs. Aston Villa: Premier League.
