By Aston Villa FC

Game Details

 

Game: Aston Villa vs Manchester United

Date: Thursday 9th July

Competition: Premier League

Venue: Villa Park

Kick-off: 8:15pm

 

At a Glance

 

Aston Villa take on Manchester United at Villa Park on Thursday night, looking to pick up their first win since the Premier League’s resumption.

 

Dean Smith’s men fought hard against champions Liverpool on Sunday before going down 2-0, meaning they’ve drawn two and lost three of their past five matches.

 

Watford’s victory against Norwich City on Tuesday left Villa four points adrift of safety in 18th place.

 

Manchester United head to Birmingham in fine form after picking up three wins and a draw from their last four Premier League outings.

 

The latest of which was a 5-2 thrashing of Bournemouth last weekend, with joint top-scorers Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford both hitting the 20-goal mark with strikes against the Cherries.

 

Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s team currently occupy fifth place and are chasing down the top four as they seek a Champions League spot.

 

Standout Stats

 

Mason Greenwood has scored 15 goals in all competitions for Manchester United this season – the only teenagers to score more goals for the Red Devils in a season are George Best in 1965-66, Brian Kidd in 1967-68 and Wayne Rooney in 2004-05 (all 17 goals).

 

Manchester United are unbeaten in their last 20 Premier League away games against Aston Villa (W13 D7), since a 1-3 loss on the opening day of the 1995-96 season. It’s the longest unbeaten away run one team has had against another in top-flight history.

 

Head-to-Head

 

Aston Villa and Manchester United have met on 187 occasions, dating back to their first game in 1892.

 

Villa have won 49 times, drawn 40 and lost 98 games against the Red Devils.

 

Team News

 

Dean Smith said his squad had come through unscathed from their trip to Anfield, with Tyrone Mings and Jack Grealish shaking off knocks.

 

The Villa boss may be without Matt Targett again after he earmarked the defender’s return for Crystal Palace on Sunday.

 

Meanwhile, Manchester United are sweating on the fitness of Victor Lindelof who was taken off against Bournemouth with a back injury. Axel Tuanzebe and Phil Jones are both sidelined with injuries.

 

The Boss

 

“They [Manchester United] are a very good team, they have improved but there is a lot of heart that we can take from our performance against Liverpool.

 

“We have to do the same against a team that are full of confidence.

 

“The belief is there because the players know that they have played well enough to win games.”

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