(4-3-3) Bruno Fernandez drop to bench’, Possible Man United line up to Face Aston Villa – As Ten Hag looks for positive result away from Old Trafford

(4-3-3) As Ten Hag seeks a solid result away from Old Trafford, Bruno Fernandez might be dropped to the bench for Man United’s match against Aston Villa.

It’s make-or-break time for Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag, who is under great pressure to win Sunday’s Premier League match against Aston Villa at Villa Park.

The Red Devils lost a two-goal lead before securing a late point in a 3-3 Europa League tie with Porto on Thursday, just days after Unai Emery’s team stunned Bayern Munich in one of the biggest Champions League upsets of the season.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s sharp eyes will apparently be watching at Villa Park this weekend, where another humiliating defeat against Manchester United may perhaps put the last nail in Ten Hag’s coffin, only months after his stay of execution at Old Trafford.

Things were looking bright for the under-pressure Dutchman when Man United took a two-goal lead against Porto on Thursday night, but a Pepe header and a Samu Omorodion brace reversed the tide in the Portuguese giants’ favor, with only Harry Maguire’s late header saving the visitors’ bacon.

Man United’s six-goal display in Portugal came after a 3-0 home defeat against Tottenham Hotspur, who annihilated Ten Hag’s side after Bruno Fernandes was mistakenly sent off – a decision that was corrected much too late.

Man United are winless in four matches in all competitions and sit 13th in the Premier League table, with only three victories from their first ten games of the season, a form that many say is sack-worthy.

If there is any solace for the under-pressure Ten Hag, it is that Manchester United has kept back-to-back away clean sheets in the Premier League against Crystal Palace and Southampton; not since March 2021 have they kept three consecutive shutouts on the road.

Speaking of shutouts, Harry Kane and his teammates had no answer for Aston Villa’s defensive power in Wednesday’s rematch of the 1982 European Cup final, which Villa won 1-0, and Unai Emery’s current version of the former continental champions saw Bavarian lightning strike twice.

In typical Jhon Duran manner, Villa’s spectacular replacement needed just nine minutes to make his imprint. With Manuel Neuer in no man’s land, the Colombian clinically lifted the ball over the famous German goalkeeper, sending Villa Park into a frenzy.

Emery’s team is now two for two in this season’s Champions League, and they have six wins in their past seven matches across all events, with the exception of a 2-2 top-flight stalemate with Ipswich Town last weekend.

If the fifth-placed hosts had not dropped two points at Portman Road, they would be competing with Liverpool for first place right now, but they have not earned 13 points from their first six games of a top-flight season since the 2008-09 season, when Martin O’Neill was in charge.

However, in each of Villa’s previous four meetings against Manchester United, the Red Devils have come out on top, with Scott McTominay’s late goal sinking the Lions at Villa Park in Ten Hag’s side’s 2and1 victory in February – a similar outcome on Sunday may just buy the Dutchman some more time.

Not long after his Tottenham red card and three-game Premier League punishment were overturned, Manchester United captain Fernandes was sent off in Porto for a high boot, however the sentence will only apply to Europa League games.

The Portuguese playmaker is therefore fit to face Villa, which is more than can be said for Luke Shaw (calf), Tyrell Malacia (knee), and Leny Yoro (foot), while Mason Mount has to be assessed after picking up a hit and sustaining a cut to the head against Spurs.

Fellow midfielder Kobbie Mainoo was also forced off in the 3-0 defeat and did not make the matchday squad on Thursday, although he did participate in training earlier this week and appears to have a decent chance of making his return at Villa Park.

Marcus Rashford probably had one of his greatest 45 minutes of the season on Thursday before being substituted at halftime, which Ten Hag admitted was for rotation purposes, and both he and Alejandro Garnacho might now start on the flanks as Amad Diallo is ruled out.

Meanwhile, Villa’s remarkable victory over Bayern came at a high cost, as the unfortunate Jacob Ramsey was pulled off in the first half with an apparent groin ailment, while Amadou Onana was replaced around the hour mark owing to a tight hamstring.

Both midfielders’ availability for Sunday remains uncertain, while Leon Bailey, who replaced Ramsey, was brought off himself in the second half, though this looked to be for fitness concerns rather than anything more nefarious.

Tyrone Mings (knee), Boubacar Kamara (knee), and John McGinn (thigh) are still sidelined for Emery, who may potentially start Duran with Ollie Watkins following Ramsey’s latest injury.

Aston Villa’s likely starting lineup: Martinez; Konsa, Carlos, Torres, Digne; Rogers, Barkley, Tielemans, Philogene; Duran, Watkins.

Manchester United’s likely starting lineup: Onana; Mazraoui, De Ligt, Maguire, Dalot; Mainoo, Ugarte; Garnacho, Fernandes, Rashford; Zirkzee.