England Round 19

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Manchester United vs Aston Villa Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Manchester United:
Onana; Dalot, Evans, Varane, Reguilon; McTominay, Eriksen; Antony, Fernandes, Garnacho; Rashford

Aston Villa:
Martinez; Konsa, Carlos, Lenglet, Moreno; Zaniolo, McGinn, Luiz, Ramsey; Diaby, Watkins

Manchester United have not lost a Boxing Day home fixture in the last 45 years. But the actual form isn't at desired level and I see a lot of problems when they host high-flying Aston Villa at Old Trafford. The Red Devils sit on the 8th position with 28 points, 12 less than the league-leaders Arsenal. In addition, they are eliminated from the Champions League and Carabao Cup, so it look like this will be another poor season. Manager Erik ten Hag is constantly under pressure, as well as players. The "heroic" draw at Anfield was a solid base for improving, but everything went wrong way against West Ham in the last round. United suffered a painful 2:0 loss and the fans are frustrated. The injury situation is very complicated, but that should not be an excuse as they have long roster. Amad Diallo, Lisandro Martinez, Mason Mount, Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof, Casemiro and Tyrell Malacia remain sidelined, while Jadon Sancho is still not being considered for selection due to manager's decision.. Raphael Varane and Anthony Martial missed the match against West Ham due to flu, but should be available here.

Aston Villa are third on the table, just one point behind the leaders Arsenal. Nobody was expecting Villa to be so high on the table at Christmas. To be better, Unai Emery's men beat Manchester City this month. It was a big result, but something else shocked the experts - Aston Villa outplayed the reigning champions. Like no other team in the last few years. Only 19 of the 281 Premier League games that Man City have played since Guardiola became their manager have seen them have fewer shots than their opponent. But Aston Villa did not just have one more shot than City. They had 20 more. The Villans then beat Arsenal, another title pretenders. The fans are pleased and many of them start dreaming about the title. The late victory against Brentford warmed up the atmosphere, but Aston Villa dropped two points against the easiest opponents - Sheffield United. Emery will try to return to the winning way, but some players are unavailable. Matty Cash and Boubacar Kamara will miss out through suspensions, while Emiliano Buendia, Tyrone Mings, Bertrand Traore, Youri Tielemans and Robin Olsen are out injured. Finally, Pau Torres is rated as doubtful due to a knock.

Manchester United vs Aston Villa Prediction:

As I already wrote, Manchester United have not lost a Boxing Day home fixture in the last 45 years. And I think the positive series will continue. No English side has won more league games on 26 December than Manchester United's 53. I am well aware of the fact they are in poor form, but I saw a great passion against Liverpool at Anfield. Ten Hag will definitely find a way to motivate his players again. The momentum is on Villa side, but I think the quality is on Man United side.

Manchester United vs Aston Villa Pick: Manchester United to win @ 2.60 with Everygame