Erik ten Hag is in desperate need of a win as Manchester United travel to the west Midlands to take on Aston Villa this afternoon.
This could be the Red Devils boss’ final game in charge of the club after talkSPORT reported that his role was only safe up until after this match.
Man United currently sit in 13th after only winning two of their first six outings and another defeat would surely put Ten Hag on the brink.
The Dutchman wasn’t even able to enjoy any respite in the Europa League, with Harry Maguire rescuing a 3-3 draw in Porto in stoppage-time after the Red Devils had blown a two-goal advantage.
His side now take on Aston Villa who enjoyed a historic Champions League victory in midweek and come into this game four unbeaten in the top-flight.
Aston Villa vs Man United: Duran Duran
A Jhon Duran goal off the bench has become inevitable.
The 20-year-old has five goals as a substitute in all competitions this season, two more than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues.
He continued his incredible season so far in midweek by leading Aston Villa to a famous win against Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
Coming on as a substitute in the second half, he fired in with a quick, powerful strike, beating Manuel Neuer to help secure a 1-0 victory.
On top of it being another goal as a sub, it was also yet another at Villa Park and we can expect more this afternoon.
Duran has scored four goals in his last four home appearances in the Premier League, with all of those coming from the bench.
He is averaging a home goal in the top flight every 43 minutes which is the second-best ratio at the same stadium behind ex-Liverpool star Luis Suarez (every 38 minutes at Carrow Road).
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- Aston Villa have won just one of their last 25 Premier League home games against Manchester United (D8 L16), with that victory coming in Unai Emery’s first game in charge of the club in November 2022 (3-1).
- Manchester United have won 40 Premier League games against Aston Villa, with only the Red Devils themselves beating an opponent more often in the competition’s history (41 vs Everton).
Aston Villa vs Man United: Team news
Aston Villa XI: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne, Tielemans, Barkley, Philogene, Rogers, Bailey, Watkins.
Subs: Gauci, Nedeljkovic, Maatsen, Carlos, Bogarde, Swinkels, Buendia, Duran, Young.
Manchester United XI: Onana, Mazraoui, Maguire, Evans, Dalot, Mainoo, Eriksen, Fernandes, Garnacho, Rashford, Hojlund.
Subs: Bayindir, De Ligt, Lindelof, Martinez, Casemiro, Ugarte, Amad, Antony, Zirkzee.
- Aston Villa have picked up 13 points in their opening six Premier League matches this season (W4 D1 L1), their best start to a season since 2008-09 under Martin O’Neill (also 13 points).
- Manchester United have lost eight Premier League matches by a margin of three or more goals under Erik ten Hag. Since the start of 2022-23, the only current Premier League managers to suffer more 3+ goal defeats are Gary O’Neil and Sean Dyche (9 each).
Aston Villa vs Man United: What has been said?
Man United boss Ten Hag is refusing to worry about the mounting pressure surrounding his future with the Red Devils.
He said: “I’m not thinking about such [external] issues because it’s not a topic. We are in there together, the ownership, the leadership team, the staff I appointed, the new staff.
“We bought again new, young players and we have to integrate [them]. Like [Manuel] Ugarte, the no.6 position was absolutely one of the positions we wanted to sign this season but he needs time to integrate. You know in top football, you don’t get time, you have to perform immediately but that’s not always realistic.
“He has to get used to our game model, to his team-mates, to the intensity of the Premier League. So it needs time. So we have more positions where we need time. I’m very pleased with the return of Rasmus Hojlund.
“I think he had a good return but we couldn’t play him in the first two months of the season. Hopefully, he is now fit and he keeps improving in his fitness levels. He also has to be consistently fit this season and that will help us.
“So there are more areas where we will improve, definitely, and then this team can grow and improve and then we’ll see where we are at the end of the season.”
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- Since Unai Emery’s first Premier League game in charge of Aston Villa, only Man City (85), Liverpool (84) and Arsenal (81) have picked up more home points than Villa (74). Among Villa managers to take charge of five or more home top-flight matches, only European Cup-winning manager Tony Barton (70%, won 37/53) has a better home win percentage than Emery (66%, won 23/35).
- Manchester United have lost eight Premier League matches by a margin of three or more goals under Erik ten Hag. Since the start of 2022-23, the only current Premier League managers to suffer more 3+ goal defeats are Gary O’Neil and Sean Dyche (9 each).
Aston Villa vs Man United: How to follow
This Premier League clash will take place on Sunday, October 6.
Kick-off at Villa Park is scheduled for 2pm.
The game will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League.
You can sign up to Sky Sports HERE, or begin a membership with Now TV and buy a day pass for just £14.99. More details can be found HERE.
talkSPORT will also keep you up to date on all the goals as they go in on the Sunday Session with Sam Matterface.
To tune in to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 through the website, click HERE for the live stream.
You can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.
Meanwhile, talkSPORT.com has you covered in our dedicated Premier League live blog.