This Saturday 25th September, Manchester United host Dean Smith’s Aston Villa in an early Premier League kick off. The Red Devils seek to build on what has been a strong Premier League start, and recover from some disappointing cup games.
Villa have had a fairly strong start to their Premier League campaign. With 2 wins, 1 loss and 2 draws giving them 7 points to be sat in 10th place. They are a good side that are going to try and cause problems for United. I think it is going to be quite difficult to predict what Dean Smith is going to opt for. Recently he has favoured the 3-5-2 formation with Axel Tuanzebe one of the three centre-backs. However, Axel will not be available for selection against his parent club. Hence the dilemma.
Having said that, I would imagine that they opt for a 4-2-3-1. With Targett and Cash pushing high from those fullback positions. And then Luiz and McGinn sitting in front of Mings and Konsa. I expect Danny Ings to return in the number 9 position. With Ollie Watkins and Bertrand Traore taking up the wide positions. Since the departure of Jack Grealish in the summer, Villa have struggled to replace that creative presence in the team. I would imagine either Jacob Ramsey or Emi Buendia line up in the number 10 position. Either of these options would be a strong choice for Villa and would pose some challenges for United.
When Villa attack they like to do so in numbers. Their fullbacks push high up the pitch. This leaves space in behind, particularly in those wide areas. This is where I expect United to capitalise. With the likes of Luke Shaw and Paul Pogba putting balls in behind for Mason Greenwood and Ronaldo to get on the end of. I would like to see United line up with our back 5 the same as always. De Gea in net, Shaw, Maguire, Varane and Wan-Bissaka. With a front three of Sancho, Ronaldo and Greenwood. And the midfield being made up by Bruno, Pogba and Fred. However, I can also see Ole going for Fred and McTominay in a two, with Pogba shifting out Sacho on that left hand side. Personally, I’d prefer the first option. With Pogba playing those balls in behind for the runners out wide of Sancho and Greenwood.
Whichever way Solskjær opts to go for, I think this should be enough to cope with Aston Villa. I am predicting a 2-0 win for Manchester United. Since Ronaldo has come back he has not stopped scoring and I can’t see this Villa side being the ones to stop that. I’d also love to see Mason get on the score sheet once again. Or perhaps we will get a penalty and finally get to see if Ronaldo or Bruno kicks from the spot. Hopefully, we see a performance that bounces back from the disappointment of midweek with putting another three points onto the league table.