Manchester United and Aston Villa will be eager to return to winning ways in the Premier League when they clash at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Gameweek 30 of the 2025/26 Premier League season will continue on Sunday, which will feature four games. The action on the day will start with three simultaneous matches, including Manchester United vs Aston Villa at Old Trafford, as the top-four race intensifies.
Manchester United’s unbeaten start under Michael Carrick ended last week, as Newcastle United handed them a 2-1 defeat at St. James’ Park. Despite having a numerical advantage, the Red Devils could not punish the Tyneside outfit, and their excellent run finally reached its conclusion. However, Carrick’s men remain third in the Premier League standings, level on points with Aston Villa.
Speaking of Aston Villa, the Villans have been dreadful for most of 2026 in the Premier League, winning only three of their ten top-flight outings this year. Unai Emery’s men have thus fallen from second to fourth on the table due to this horrendous run of results. However, the West Midlands outfit bounced back from a 4-1 defeat to Chelsea by beating LOSC Lille 1-0 in the UEFA Europa League round of 16 first leg.
The reverse fixture saw Aston Villa eke out a 2-1 win over Manchester United, with Morgan Rogers scoring a match-winning brace. The Hard Tackle looks closer at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Manchester United
Michael Carrick has a new injury concern hampering his preparations ahead of his side’s latest fixture. The Manchester United head coach may be bereft of the services of five first-team players vs Aston Villa on Sunday.
Carrick has been sweating over Noussair Mazraoui’s fitness due to a foot injury. The Moroccan international faces a late fitness test to determine his availability. Mason Mount is closing in on returning from a muscular issue, but Sunday’s game may have come too soon for him. Meanwhile, Lisandro Martinez (calf), Patrick Dorgu (hamstring), and Matthis 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 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him vs Aston Villa on Sunday. The backline will feature Diogo Dalot, Leny Yoro, Harry Maguire, and Luke Shaw.
As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Casemiro and Kobbie Mainoo in the double pivot. Bruno Fernandes will reprise the no. 10 role, with Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha being the two wide attackers. Finally, Benjamin Sesko will lead the line for Manchester United against Aston Villa on Sunday.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Lammens; Dalot, Yoro, Maguire, Shaw; Casemiro, Mainoo; Mbeumo, Bruno Fernandes, Cunha; Sesko
Aston Villa
Unlike his counterpart in the Manchester United dugout, Unai Emery has received a positive update on the team news front ahead of the trip to Old Trafford. The Aston Villa manager will be without four first-team players on Sunday.
John McGinn is fit and available to start against Manchester United this weekend. However, Boubacar Kamara (knee) and Youri Tielemans (ankle) remain in the treatment room. Meanwhile, Matty Cash faces a late fitness test to determine his availability, while Jadon Sancho is ineligible to take on his parent club.
Emiliano Martinez is an automatic pick 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 Lamare Bogarde, Ezri Konsa, Pau Torres, and Ian Maatsen.
As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Douglas Luiz and Amadou Onana in the double pivot. Morgan Rogers will reprise the no. 10 role, with Emiliano Buendia and Leon Bailey being the two wide attackers. Finally, Ollie Watkins will spearhead the Aston Villa attack against Manchester United on Sunday.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Martinez; Bogarde, Konsa, Torres, Maatsen; Luiz, Onana; Bailey, Rogers, Buendia; Watkins
Key Stats
- Manchester United have lost just two of their last 37 home league games vs Aston Villa (W28 D7), going down 1-0 both times in December 2009 and September 2021. Meanwhile, following their 2-1 win in December, the Villans are looking to complete the league double over Manchester United for the first time since 1954/55. The Red Devils have kept 30 clean sheets against Aston Villa in the Premier League. Only Arsenal have kept more against a single opponent in the competition (31 vs Newcastle United).
- After losing three of their first six Premier League games this season (W2 D1), Manchester United have since lost just three of their 23 subsequent matches (W13 D7), although they slipped to a 2-1 loss at Newcastle United in Gameweek 29.
- Manchester United have scored in their 17 most recent Premier League games since losing 1-0 to Everton in November. They last had a longer scoring streak between November 2012 and April 2013 under Sir Alex Ferguson (23).
- Aston Villa have won just three of their last 11 Premier League games (D3 L5); since the first game in this run (1-4 defeat to Arsenal on December 30), only four sides have accrued fewer points than Unai Emery’s side (12) in the competition.
- Michael Carrick has won all five of his Premier League home games as Manchester United manager (1 in 2021, 4 in 2026); only three managers have won each of their first six home matches in the competition: Sven-Goran Eriksson (first 9 in 2007), Carlo Ancelotti (first 7 in 2009), and Manuel Pellegrini (first 11 in 2013/14).
Player to Watch
Bruno Fernandes
While Morgan Rogers, Ollie Watkins, and Casemiro were viable candidates for this section, we have picked Bruno Fernandes as the Player to Watch for Sunday’s Premier League clash between Manchester United and Aston Villa at Old Trafford.
The Manchester United captain’s goals and assists have been worth 23 points to Manchester United this season. In Premier League history, only three players’ goal involvements have been worth more to the Red Devils in a campaign: Robin van Persie in 2012/13 (38), Eric Cantona in 1993/94 (26) and Cristiano Ronaldo in 2007/08 (25).
So, with Aston Villa struggling to keep opposition attackers at bay, it is hardly surprising that Fernandes is one of the captaincy picks in FPL for Gameweek 30. The Portuguese international will invariably be one of the go-to players for Michael Carrick this weekend.
Prediction
Manchester United 2-1 Aston Villa
Both teams have displayed a soft underbelly, and the two goalkeepers will be busy between the sticks this weekend. However, the visitors have not been at their best in the final third in their recent outings, and that will be a significant issue at Old Trafford.
Meanwhile, Manchester United’s attackers have been impressive under Michael Carrick, and Bruno Fernandes will pull the strings for the home side. So, while Aston Villa will take the game to the home side, they will fall short by a goal. The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-1 win for Michael Carrick and his charges.