Manchester United must stay close to the top four conversations, and their ambition must come to the fore at Villa Park. The hosts are one of those pretenders for a spot in the top four, so United must take the battle to them.

Unai Emery has done an amazing job with Aston Villa. The Spaniard picked the club from the red zone, took them to Europe (UEFA Conference League), and then planted them among the favorites for the Champions League qualification.

Aston Villa has a thing for switching off on important days. They rammed five past Sheffield United at Bramall Lane last weekend but did nothing of note to stop Chelsea from advancing in the FA Cup in midweek; they must find consistency.

Manchester United had a scoring crisis earlier in the season, but their forwards have started doing the honors. Rasmus Hojlund and Alejandro Garnacho have both been among the goals of late, and it’s beginning to look good for the Red Devils.

How will they line up? Both sides are already welcoming some men back from the injury, but Manchester United will have to play this game and many more without their Argentine defender, Lisandro Martinez. The pocket-sized defender suffered a relapse and will be sidelined for eight weeks.

Aston Villa will seek to edge the midfield battle; Boubacar Kamara and Douglas Luiz will be key, and John McGinn will be the glue, but who would Unai Emery opt for between the high-flying Jamaican Leon Bailey and Moussa Diaby?

United needs Marcus Rashford to be at his best. Both sides will have key chances, but will they take them when it matters? Bruno Fernandes also has a part to play in driving chances down the channels; it’s a six-pointer for both sides.

With Manchester United no longer in European conversations, they can prepare better for league games, while the hosts would have the Conference League to worry about very soon. It’s a tournament they hope to win, and it guarantees Europa qualification.

Aston Villa’s hopes would be pinned on their striker, Ollie Watkins. Only Mohammed Salah and Erling Haaland have scored more goals than the former Brentford striker; he will be the man to watch out for at Villa Park on Sunday.

Both sides have great reasons to win this; a draw doesn’t hurt much, but with Tottenham grinding out a win against Brighton on Saturday, it becomes important for Villa to win to return to fourth and for United to win and move up to 41 points.

Verdict: Both teams score