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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
George Smith

'We're in trouble!' - Manchester United fans cannot believe Erik ten Hag decision vs Aston Villa

Erik ten Hag has named his starting line-up for Manchester United's Premier League clash with Aston Villa at Old Trafford this afternoon, making a couple of alternations.

United, who were beaten 3-1 by Villa in the reverse fixture back in November, will be looking to get back to winning ways after squandering a two-goal lead against Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday evening. After Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford had fired the Reds into a 2-0 lead at half-time, they collapsed in the second half, meaning they were forced to settle for a point.

It means that Ten Hag will be determined to see a response from his side, as they aim to nail down their position inside the Champions League places. The Dutchman has opted to make a couple of changes to the side that was held to a draw in north London.

READ MORE: United vs Aston Villa LIVE

Tyrell Malacia and Marcel Sabitzer have come into the side, meaning Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Antony have dropped out. It means that Diogo Dalot is set to return to right-back and Bruno Fernandes is likely to start out wide.

Meanwhile, the likes of Harry Maguire, Facundo Pellistri and Anthony Martial have been named among the substitutes. However, the likes of Raphael Varane and Scott McTominay remain unavailable through injury.

Having made the decision to make two changes to the side that drew with Spurs less than 72 hours ago, Ten Hag will be hoping to see a much-needed win from his players, as they look to maintain their excellent Old Trafford record. It is the exclusion of Wan-Bissaka from the starting line-up that has attracted the most attention from United's supporters in the immediate aftermath of the team news being confirmed.

Below, MEN Sport has taken a close look at what some of United's supporters have had to say in response to Ten Hag's decision to drop the right-back to the bench:

As you can see from the messages displayed in the tweets above, Ten Hag's decision to drop Wan-Bissaka to the bench has stunned United's supporters, particularly given his recent form. He has been excellent in recent weeks and earned rave reviews after last weekend's FA Cup semi-final win over Brighton & Hove Albion.

It is, of course, possible that Ten Hag is managing his squad in the midst of a fixture marathon. United are in action again on Thursday night, facing a long trip to Brighton.

United starting line-up: De Gea; Dalot, Lindelof, Shaw, Malacia; Casemiro, Eriksen, Sabitzer; Fernandes, Rashford, Sancho.

Substitutes: Butland, Wan-Bissaka, Maguire, Williams, Fred, Pellistri, Antony, Martial, Weghorst.

This afternoon's contest kicks off at 2pm and you can follow all of the action on our live matchday blog, which you can access by clicking here.

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