Before the international break takes hold, there’s a pretty big game that needs to take place in the Premier League as Aston Villa and Manchester United are two sides heading in opposite directions following European play. Villa defeated Bayern Munich at home while United had to claw back a point against Porto after going ahead by two goals. Unai Emery has already stated that the Premier League is the focus for Aston Villa so his team will be well prepared to come out quickly in this clash against United.
Here are our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
How to watch and odds
- Date: Sunday, Oct. 6 | Time: 9 a.m. ET
- Location: Villa Park — Birmingham, England
- TV: USA | Live stream: Fubo (Try for free)
- Odds: Aston Villa +120; Draw +270; Manchester United +200
Storylines
Aston Villa: The biggest question is how much will Emery rotate for this match. With the international break on the horizon, there’s no need to worry about overloading players despite them playing midweek. Also with depth such as Jhon Duran, members of the side like Ollie Watkins and Lucas Digne rarely have to play 90 minutes in a match making them more fresh than usual after featuring in European competition.
Manchester United: Erik ten Hag needs a rethink in the United side. The Red Devils are underperforming their xG in league play by five goals. Rasmus Hojlund’s return could help in the attack but this feels systemic. Bruno Fernandes, Alejandro Garnacho and Joshua Zirkzee are all underperforming and chopping and changing the XI only does so much. United can’t enter the international break on a poor loss so they’ll need to show fight away from home.
Prediction
Aston Villa’s attack will prove to be too much for Manchester United to keep up with as the Red Devils drop another game in their midtable malaise. Pick: Aston Villa 2, Manchester United 1
