Aston Villa and Manchester United will be eager to continue their unbeaten runs when they lock horns at Villa Park on Sunday.
Gameweek 17 of the 2025/26 Premier League season will continue on Sunday, and the day will feature only one match. Aston Villa vs Manchester United will take centre stage at Villa Park, with both teams on promising, yet questionable runs in the last few weeks.
Aston Villa’s campaign has taken off after a dreadful start to the 2025/26 season. The Villans failed to win their first six games this term but have lost only twice since September. Additionally, Unai Emery’s men are on a nine-match winning run. With most of those victories coming in the Premier League, they have risen to third in the standings, only three points behind Arsenal, thus fuelling talks of a title charge.
As for Manchester United, the 2025/26 season has been a tale of slow and steady progress. The much-desired winning run has eluded them, even though they have lost only one of their last ten matches going back to October. Nevertheless, the Red Devils are in contention to finish in the top four this season, as playing once a week for most of the rest of the campaign will benefit Ruben Amorim’s charges compared to teams playing in Europe.
The corresponding fixture last season ended in a goalless stalemate, with the match lacking action and substance. The Hard Tackle looks closer at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Aston Villa
Unai Emery has received positive updates on the team news front ahead of his side’s latest fixture. The Aston Villa manager may be bereft of the services of only four first-team players vs Manchester United on Sunday.
Emiliano Martinez (lower back) and Harvey Elliott (illness) should be fit and available to take on Manchester United. However, Tyrone Mings (hamstring), Pau Torres (calf), and Ross Barkley (knee) remain in the treatment room. Additionally, Jadon Sancho is ineligible to face his parent club.
Emiliano Martinez, famously a target for the away side in the summer transfer window, should return between the sticks, with Aston Villa lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him vs Manchester United on Sunday. The backline will feature Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Victor Lindelof, and Ian Maatsen.
As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Amadou Onana and Boubacar Kamara in the double pivot. Youri Tielemans will reprise the no. 10 role, with Morgan Rogers and John McGinn being the two wide attackers. Finally, Ollie Watkins will lead the line for Aston Villa against Manchester United on Sunday.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Lindelof, Maatsen; Onana, Kamara; McGinn, Tielemans, Rogers; Watkins
Manchester United
Unlike his counterpart in the Aston Villa dugout, Ruben Amorim has new roster issues hampering his preparations ahead of the trip to Villa Park. The Manchester United manager will be without half a dozen first-team players on Sunday.
Casemiro is the latest absentee, as he will serve a suspension after picking up his fifth booking of the 2025/26 season. Additionally, Noussair Mazraoui (Morocco), Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast), and Bryan Mbeumo (Cameroon) have joined their national teams for the Africa Cup of Nations. Meanwhile, Harry Maguire (thigh) and Matthijs de Ligt (lower back) remain in the treatment room.
Senne Lammens is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Manchester United lining up in a 3-4-2-1 formation in front of him vs Aston Villa on Sunday. The central defensive unit will feature Leny Yoro, Ayden Heaven, and Luke Shaw. Diogo Dalot and Patrick Dorgu will start as the two wing-backs.
The wide duo will protect the centre-backs and provide width in the final third. As for the midfield unit, Kobbie Mainoo may get a rare start alongside Bruno Fernandes in the middle of the park. Finally, Benjamin Sesko will spearhead the Manchester United attack against Aston Villa, with Mason Mount and Matheus Cunha completing the numbers in the offensive third.
Probable Lineup (3-4-2-1): Lammens; Yoro, Heaven, Shaw; Dalot, Mainoo, Bruno Fernandes, Dorgu; Mount, Cunha; Sesko
Key Stats
- Aston Villa have won only one of their last 26 Premier League home games vs Manchester United (D9 L16), beating them 3-1 in November 2022 in Unai Emery’s first match in charge. The Red Devils have won 41 Premier League matches against Aston Villa, with 18 of those victories coming on the road. Only they have beaten an opponent more both overall and on the road (42 overall, 19 away vs Everton).
- Only Manchester City (46) have won more Premier League points at home in 2025 than Aston Villa (40). Meanwhile, the Villans have lost the fewest home games of any ever-present side (1). Should they avoid defeat here, it will be their fewest home top-flight defeats in a year since 1983 (1 in 22 games).
- Manchester United have won their two most recent away Premier League matches, last winning three successive games on the road in February 2024. The Red Devils have scored at least twice in their five most recent away clashes, last doing so in more consecutive ties between June and December 2020 (11).
- Aston Villa have won their six most recent Premier League games and their last nine in all competitions. As a top-flight side, the most recent time they won seven straight league games was between December 1989 and February 1990. They last won ten or more times in all competitions between January and March 1914 (11).
- Manchester United have dropped ten points from winning positions in the Premier League this term, just one fewer than they did in the whole of 2024/25. Coming into Gameweek 17, only Brentford (13) and Newcastle United (11) have conceded more.
Player to Watch
Bruno Fernandes
While Morgan Rogers, Ollie Watkins, and Matheus Cunha were viable candidates for this section, we have picked Bruno Fernandes as the Player to Watch for Saturday’s Premier League clash between Aston Villa and Manchester United at Villa Park.
The Manchester United skipper has provided an assist in his last five Premier League outings on the road for his team. Should on Sundayhe get one on Sunday, Fernandes will be the first player in Premier League history to assist in six successive away games.
Meanwhile, the Portuguese international has also scored and assisted a goal in his two most recent Premier League appearances. The only Manchester United player to do so in three consecutive outings is Ryan Giggs in April 2003. So, it is little wonder that the 31-year-old is one of the captaincy candidates in FPL heading into Gameweek 17.
While most of the talk around the talismanic playmaker has been around his bombshell interview with a Portuguese outlet, he will remain focused on the task at hand. Meanwhile, those numbers also indicate why Bruno Fernandes will be the go-to player for Ruben Amorim as the Manchester United boss hopes for a smooth run in the absence of pivotal figures unavailable during AFCON.
Prediction
Aston Villa 3-2 Manchester United
Sunday’s Premier League clash is on course to be a goal fest, as despite being on a nine-match winning streak, Aston Villa’s defensive vulnerabilities have exacerbated in recent weeks. On top of that, Manchester United’s outings on the road have been productive, especially as the season has progressed.
However, with Casemiro unavailable this weekend due to suspension, Aston Villa will be better-placed to clinch a victory on Sunday, as the Red Devils have struggled in the Brazilian midfielder’s absence. The Hard Tackle predicts a hard-fought 3-2 win for Unai Emery and his charges, with the away side producing a valiant fight.
