At A Glance
Old Trafford is the destination for Aston Villa on Saturday as the club continue their Premier League campaign against Manchester United.
Dean Smith’s squad are looking to pick up a first away win of the season after losing to Watford and Chelsea on their previous two road trips in the league.
And despite a Carabao Cup loss to the Blues on Wednesday, the Villans will be boosted by last weekend’s 3-0 win against Everton at Villa Park.
United are one of three unbeaten teams after navigating their first five matches with four wins and a draw.
The return of Cristiano Ronaldo, who has scored three in two games, has helped the Red Devils top the scoring charts with 13 strikes so far.
Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s team lost against West Ham on home turf in the Carabao Cup in midweek, days after securing a 2-1 win v the Hammers in the Premier League.
Standout Stats
Manchester United have won 18 of their last 21 home league games against Aston Villa (D2 L1), failing to score on just one occasion in that run.
In Premier League history, no side has won more games against an opponent than Manchester United’s 37 victories against Aston Villa.
Since a goalless draw with Manchester City last December, Manchester United have scored in each of their last 15 Premier League home games (44 goals in total). However, the Red Devils have also conceded in each of their last seven league games at Old Trafford, last having a longer top-flight home run without a clean sheet in February 1972 (8 games).
Manchester United are the highest scorers in the Premier League so far this season with 13 goals. With an expected goals total of eight, the Red Devils are also overperforming their xG more than any other side this season (5 goals more).
No side has had more direct attacks in the Premier League this season than Aston Villa (15). A direct attack is one that starts just inside a team’s own half, with at least 50% of movement towards the opposition goal that ends in a shot or touch in the opposition box.
United’s Bruno Fernandes has scored in all three of Premier League games against Aston Villa, with all three of his goals coming from the penalty spot. Only one player has scored more goals against an opponent with 100% of them being penalties in the competition – Troy Deeney against Manchester United (4).
Since the start of February (when he joined West Ham on loan), only Kelechi Iheanacho (12) has scored more Premier League goals than Jesse Lingard (11). Lingard is looking to score in three consecutive league games for Manchester United for the first time.
Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo has the shortest average shot distance from goal of the 23 players to have had at least 10 open play shots in the Premier League this season (12.6 metres – excluding headers).
The Last Meeting
Bertrand Traore scored a spectacular goal to give Aston Villa the lead when Manchester United visited Villa Park in May.
However, two goals in four minutes from Bruno Fernandes and Mason Greenwood turned the tie on its head in the second half.
And Edinson Cavani put the finishing touches on the win with a header late on.
Team News
Dean Smith confirmed Leon Bailey (thigh) will be out until after the October international break and Morgan Sanson (hamstring) will miss a month.
They join Trezeguet and Keinan Davis on the sidelines, while Axel Tuanzebe is ineligible to face his parent club.
For United, Edinson Cavani will be assessed ahead of the game, while Marcus Rashford is expected to be out until next month.
Amad Diallo is also missing for the Red Devils.
The Boss
“I’ve seen David de Gea’s interview this morning and they’ve got title aspirations. A club like Manchester United should have. They’ve just brought in Cristiano Ronaldo, Raphael Varane and Jadon Sancho this summer to add to a glittering squad already. It’s a massive club with a massive history, and they’re going to be pushing to challenge the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea. Our job is to go there and go toe-to-toe with them like we did at Chelsea.”
Dean Smith
