Still feeling the pain of losing in the Europa League final, Manchester United will conclude the 2024-25 campaign with a Premier League clash against top-five hopefuls Aston Villa at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon.
The two teams butt heads for the first time since October last year when they played out a goalless stalemate at Villa Park.
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Match preview
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It was a case of Bilbao or bust on Wednesday night when Man United locked horns with fellow Premier League struggles Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League showpiece, but a 1-0 defeat has now confirmed that the Red Devils will not play Champions League football next season, or any other kind of European football for only the second time in 35 years.
Despite dominating proceedings against Spurs, Man United lacked a cutting edge in the final third - not for the first time - and their nightmare season is guaranteed to be their worst since the 1973-74 campaign when they were relegated from the top flight.
Man United have lost a staggering 18 of their 37 Premier League games this season, with nine of those suffered at Old Trafford which is the joint-most home defeats they have ever recorded in a single league campaign (also nine in 1930-31, 1933-34 and 1962-63). They have also accumulated a record-low 39 points and currently sit 16th in the table - their lowest ever PL finish prior to this season was eighth last year.
The question on everyone's lips is where do Man United go from here? Head coach Ruben Amorim - who has won just 36.6% of his 41 matches at the helm in all competitions - has said that he will leave his post if the club's board and fans no longer want him, but the Portuguese still believes that he is the right man for the job.
Amorim is tasked with somehow motivating his Man United players for a final-day clash with Aston Villa. The Red Devils have failed to win any of their last eight league games (D2 L6), but they have won three of their last four PL meetings with Villa and 40 matches overall; only Man United themselves have beaten an opponent more often (42 versus Everton) in the division's history.
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Aston Villa achieved what Man United could not last time out, as they beat Tottenham by a 2-0 scoreline in their most recent Premier League fixture a week last Friday to boost their hopes of securing Champions League qualification for a second successive year.
Unai Emery's side have put together a strong run of form heading down the home straight, as they have won each of their last three league games without reply and nine of their last 11, just one fewer than Man United (10) have all season. Despite that, they travel to Old Trafford with their top-five destiny out of their own hands.
Indeed, Villa are placed sixth in the Premier League table and level on points with both Newcastle United in fourth and Chelsea in fifth, sitting behind both teams only on goal difference. The Lions know that they must better the result of at least one of the two teams directly above them to finish in the top five. If both the Magpies and the Blues were to win, Villa would then have to rely on third-placed Man City - sitting two points above them - losing at Fulham.
Emery has insisted that he and his players are "very excited and 100% motivated" to get the job done at Old Trafford, and regardless of the outcome on Sunday, the Spaniard is proud of how his team have progressed and that they have at least guaranteed some form of European qualification for next season.
Villa have remarkably come out on top in only one of their last 26 final-day league fixtures played away from home (D7 L18), but they have earned eight points from their last seven Premier League meetings with Man United (W2 D2 L3) which bodes well ahead of Sunday's contest.
Team News
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Man United's Lisandro Martinez remains sidelined with a long-term knee injury, while fellow centre-back Matthijs de Ligt is a doubt after missing the last four matches with a knee issue of his own.
Leny Yoro, Diogo Dalot, Joshua Zirkzee and Jonny Evans all recovered from injury to make the matchday squad for the Europa League final and are in contention to feature again in some capacity on Sunday.
It remains to be seen how much Amorim will rotate his starting lineup, but the likes of Manuel Ugarte, Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho, the latter of whom is believed to be facing an uncertain future at Old Trafford, will all be pushing for a recall.
As for Aston Villa, Marcus Rashford (hamstring) is both injured and ineligible to face his parent club, while Villa's Player of the Year Youri Tielemans has missed the last two matches with a calf problem and is a major doubt for Sunday.
However, Jacob Ramsey is available to return after serving a one-match suspension and he is in contention to be recalled to the starting lineup at the expense of either John McGinn or Marco Asensio.
Both Matty Cash and Ezri Konsa are set to continue in the back four, but Emery must weigh up whether to stick with Pau Torres and Ian Maatsen at centre-back and left-back respectively, or recall Tyrone Mings and Lucas Digne, while Saudi-linked goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez is set to start what could be his final game for Villa between the sticks.
Manchester United possible starting lineup:
Onana; Lindelof, Maguire, Yoro; Mazraoui, Ugarte, Fernandes, Casemiro, Dorgu; Diallo, Garnacho; Zirkzee
Aston Villa possible starting lineup:
Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne; Kamara, Onana; Rogers, Asensio, McGinn; Watkins
We say: Manchester United 0-2 Aston Villa
There is no doubt that Man United will be keen to avoid ending the campaign with another defeat, but it is difficult to envisage Amorim galvanising his wounded group of players for a fixture that means nothing to the hosts but everything for Aston Villa, who can ill-afford to drop any points on the final day.
Villa have won four of their last five away league matches without conceding a goal, showing strength going forward and at the back, and they will fancy their chances of claiming another victory without reply on Sunday. Whether it will be enough to secure a top-five finish remains to be seen, though.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
