Aston Villa will play hosts to Manchester United at Villa Park on Thursday evening hoping to grind out a positive result so that they can get themselves out of the relegation zone in the Premier League standings. The Villans will head into this contest after suffering a 2-0 defeat at the hands of the new champions of England, Liverpool yesterday.
Tyrone Mings and Jack Grealish had picked up knocks versus the Reds last weekend, so they will both be slight concerns for this game in midweek. Dean Smith is expected to opt for a 4-3-3 formation and might be inclined to make a couple of changes to his side for this league meeting with the Red Devils.
4-3-3 Aston Villa Predicted Lineup To Face Manchester United
Defence
Pepe Reine should keep his place in goal despite shipping in two goals against his former club on Sunday. If Tyrone Mings can recover in time, then he will be a nailed-on starter alongside Kourtney Hause at the heart of the Villa defence. Both centre-backs will have their hands full while up against an in-form Anthony Martial, who is expected to lead the charge for Man United in midweek.
Ezri Konsa will once again operate at right-back, while Neil Taylor looks to impress on the other side as the left-back. Matt Targett will miss out on this league encounter at Villa Park because of a hamstring injury. However, Frédéric Guilbert should be fit and available for selection on the Villa bench.
Midfield
The home side’s midfield might be comprised of the hard-working John McGinn, who could lineup alongside Marvelous Nakamba and Douglas Luiz at the centre of the park. The energetic trio will hope to challenge for every loose possession of the ball so that they can make life difficult for the opposition and hit them back on the break when they least expect it.
Conor Hourinhane will once again have to settle for a spot on Smith’s bench as he awaits his opportunity to shine as an impact substitute.
Attack
As mentioned earlier, Jack Grealish is a slight concern ahead of this game, but Smith would have little choice but to play him as he will be Villa’s best hope for a goal on Thursday. The Villans skipper should feature as a left-sided wide player while Ahmed Elmohamady tries to produce a hard-working performance down the right flank.
Keinan Davis might keep his place in Smith’s starting XI as he gets another chance to impress as the focal point of the West Midlands outfit’s attack.
