At A Glance
The Unai Emery era begins at Villa Park on Sunday afternoon when Aston Villa take on Manchester United.
In the short-term, the club’s new head coach, who arrives with a top-class pedigree having won 11 major trophies, will aim to improve the fortunes of a team who have won one of their last six Premier League matches.
All of Villa’s three victories in the top flight have been secured at Villa Park, including the 4-0 thrashing of Brentford on their last outing in B6.
Opponents Manchester United have strung together a nine-game unbeaten run in all competitions following a 6-3 loss to rivals Manchester City at the start of October.
Their strong recent form has seen Erik ten Hag’s team climb the table and progress in the Europa League.
The Red Devils beat West Ham United 1-0 in their last league game courtesy of top scorer Marcus Rashford’s seventh of the campaign.
Standout Stats
Aston Villa's current winless run of 23 Premier League home games against United is a top-flight record (D8, L15).
Villa’s most recent home league victory in this fixture was by 3-1 in August 1995. They also won 3-0 in the League Cup in October 1999.
Manchester United have only lost four of the 54 Premier League meetings, although they earned just a point across last season's two fixtures.
The Red Devils are one short of becoming the first club to score 100 Premier League goals versus Aston Villa.
Villa are vying to win successive home league games within the same season for the first time since January 2021.
Unai Emery could become the first manager to face Manchester United four times in the Premier League without losing. He earned a win and two draws against them as Arsenal manager.
Emiliano Martinez and Calum Chambers both started Emery's final competitive fixture in charge of Arsenal in November 2019.
United are unbeaten in five league games, alternating between a win and a draw during that period.
They have only lost once in 10 top-flight fixtures, earning 23 points.
All three of their Premier League away wins this season have been by a one-goal margin.
Cristiano Ronaldo is two short of 500 career league goals. He has eight goals and three assists in his past eight starts against Villa.
The Last Meeting
Philippe Coutinho scored on his debut as Aston Villa came from two goals down to secure a dramatic 2-2 draw against Manchester United in January.
The Brazil international netted a late equaliser from close range to send Villa Park wild and secure a share of the spoils from an enthralling encounter.
Jacob Ramsey had handed Villa a lifeline just five minutes earlier when he bagged his first goal at home in claret and blue.
Team News
Ludwig Augustinsson and Boubacar Kamara have been training all week and are in contention to feature on Sunday.
Diego Carlos remains out for Villa.
For United, Anthony Martial, Jadon Sancho and Antony will all be assessed ahead of the game, while Bruno Fernandes is suspended.
The Boss
"I want to create a new way and obviously we need time. But in football, time isn’t as much and we have to get three points in front of us. I want to be here for a long time and each step ahead thinking to improve. With our dreams, my dream, my ambitions, the club, they gave me the same idea that I have – be ambitious and to improve as soon as possible and to think of each step to be stronger."
Unai Emery
