Aston Villa suffer surprise blip at home to underperforming Chelsea ahead of Manchester United clash

Erik ten Hag will have likely been paying attention to Aston Villa’s fourth-round FA Cup replay with Chelsea last night and if so, he may be feeling significantly more confident about this weekend’s game. 

Unai Emery’s side host Manchester United this Sunday in a 4:30pm kick-off at Villa Park just six weeks on from the reverse clash in M16, which saw the Reds complete an emphatic turnaround to claim all three points despite conceding two first-half goals.

Alejandro Garnacho was at the double during the victory and Rasmus Hojlund netted his maiden league goal after a 14-game wait. The young duo were also United’s only goalscorers in last Sunday’s win over West Ham.

Villa have been enjoying an unbelievably remarkable season so far this term and currently sit fourth-placed, just three points behind Arsenal and two points ahead of Tottenham Hotspur – as well as eight points higher than United.

Their last league outing saw them thrash rock-bottom Sheffield United away from home by five goals, with the Blades unable to offer even one in response.

However, the Villans fell to a 3-1 home defeat at the hands of Chelsea in the FA Cup on Wednesday evening, despite their opposition being in considerably poorer form heading into the tie.

Ten Hag must have been taking notes on how the underperforming Blues were able to dominate Villa so effortlessly, especially on their home turf where they’ve been triumphant under Emery.