Manchester United host Aston Villa in a crunch Premier League clash that could have a huge impact on who makes, and doesn’t make, the UEFA Champions League places at the end of the season. You can follow the match live right here at ESPN (the blog will load below a short preview)
United go into the match ahead of Villa on goal difference (+11 vs +5) after their good form under Michael Carrick and Villa’s own downturn coincided to leave both clubs on 51 points after 29 matches. With fifth placed Chelsea (48 points) losing on Saturday, the winner here has a chance to open up distance with the chasing pack — and that’s motivation enough for two sides of this calibre.
Neither team come into this game with momentum from the last time they played in the Prem: Carrick suffered his first defeat as Manchester United boss at the club he supported as boy growing up – Newcastle United – while Unai Emery’s men were put to the sword by João Pedro and Chelsea. Villa got some positive vibes back with a narrow first leg win in their UEFA Europa League round-of-16 tie against Lille, and they’ll be hoping to carry that to Old Trafford and set up a strong finish to a season that they had started so well.
United, meanwhile, have no midweek – or Cup fixture of any kind – to look forward to, and know that a high Premier League finish is absolutely mandatory. Could they get a bit of grip on that with a win over Villa at home? Will Villa be able to flip the table with a strong away performance?
We’ll find out soon enough:
