Aston Villa will look to inflict more misery on Manchester United when they travel to Old Trafford on Boxing Day.
Manchester United were beaten again last time out, losing 2-0 away at West Ham United, dropping to eighth in the table as a result.
United have claimed just one point from their last three matches and haven’t scored in four in all competitions.
Aston Villa missed the chance to go into Christmas top of the table after they were surprisingly held to a 1-1 draw at home by Sheffield United.
Cameron Archer opened the scoring for the Blades against his former side, with Villa needing a late equaliser from Nicolo Zaniolo.
Premier League form: Manchester United W1 D1 L3; Aston Villa W3 D2 L0
Premier League top scorers
Manchester United – Scott McTominay 5 goals
Aston Villa – Ollie Watkins 9 goals
Match history
Unai Emery earned a win in his first game in charge of Aston Villa last season against United, easing to a 3-1 win at Villa Park.
United won the reverse fixture 1-0 with Bruno Fernandes scoring the only goal.
Last five Premier League meetings
Manchester United 1 Aston Villa 0 – 30/04/23
Aston Villa 3 Manchester United 1 – 06/11/22
Aston Villa 2 Manchester United 2 – 15/01/22
Manchester United 0 Aston Villa 1 – 25/09/21
Aston Villa 1 Manchester United 3 – 09/05/21
Team news
Raphael Varane missed the loss at West Ham through illness, but could return here.
Diogo Dalot will likely start following suspension, with Marcus Rashford probably replacing Alejandro Garnacho.
Matty Cash will miss the trip to Old Trafford through suspension, with Boubacar Kamara out for the same reason.
Diego Carlos should return to the XI, but Pau Torres remains doubtful.
Expected starting XI’s
Manchester United (4-3-3): Onana; Dalot, Varane, Evans, Shaw; McTominay, Mainoo; Antony, Fernandes, Rashford; Hojlund
Aston Villa (4-4-2): Martinez; Konsa, Carlos, Lenglet, Moreno; Zaniolo, McGinn, Luiz, Ramsey; Diaby, Watkins
Predictions
Result: Aston Villa
Manchester United have been awful this season, whilst Villa have been excellent
Correct Score: 1-2
Villa should score a couple and with a couple of defensive absentees, I expect them to concede too
Anytime Goalscorer: Ollie Watkins
He’s been superb this season and it’s hard to look past Watkins
