Third-place Aston Villa will look to extend its six-match Premier League unbeaten streak when it hosts a seventh-place Manchester United side whose manager says is still combating club culture issues despite on-field improvement.
The Villains (10-3-3, 33 points) have won nine consecutive matches across all competitions, including their UEFA Europa League campaign, and in the Premier League are only six points back of leaders Arsenal.
And yet the margins have almost always been slim for manager Unai Emery’s squad, with the last five league wins — including beating Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium — coming by a single goal. Last Sunday, Morgan Rogers’ second-half brace propelled the Villains to a dramatic 3-2 win at West Ham, giving the 23-year-old a team-leading five league goals for the season.
But perhaps those narrow margins are helping to keep the mentality of Emery’s side in the right place, because they’re a consistent reminder of how quickly things can go sideways in arguably the world’s most competitive league.
“How we are now, we can feel proud of everything we are doing, but we must understand being humble,” Emery said. “If we are getting less focus, getting less work, getting less intensity in everything we are doing, we are going to lose, but not (just) against Manchester United.”
For Manchester United (7-4-5, 26 points), Bruno Fernandes has five goals and seven assists, while Bryan Mbeumo leads the Red Devils with six league goals since his move from Brentford.
And manager Ruben Amorim is pleased at the improvement in his side’s attack. With 30 goals scored already, Man U are on pace to match last season’s total output by February.
But a social media saga involving Amorim’s matter-of-fact assessment of teen prospects Harry Amass and Chido Obi has provided the latest distraction for the Portuguese manager in a year full of them, with both players appearing to take exception to his words with respective online posts.
“I think it is a little bit (of) the feeling of entitlement we have in our club,” Amorim said. “Sometimes, strong words (are) not bad words. Sometimes, difficult moments are not bad things for the kids. We don’t need to be always with accolades in everything, in every situation.”
Manchester United’s Brazilian midfielder, Casemiro, will miss only his second match of the season as he serves a one-game suspension for yellow card accumulation.
Meanwhile, Villa hope goalkeeper Emi Martinez can return after missing two consecutive matches (and three of four) with nagging back issues.
–Field Level Media
