Throughout the Premier League you will find many teams competing in multiple competitions at the same time. League leaders Arsenal, who are chasing a quadruple under Mikel Arteta, will face Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final before facing Southampton in the FA Cup quarter-finals. But before that, they will look to improve on a disappointing 1-1 draw with Leverkusen in the Champions League last 16 second leg with a fine performance. Every team in the league has a game in hand and Arsenal are seven points above Manchester City, who are praying for a miracle after losing 3-0 to Real Madrid and host Liverpool in the FA Cup next month.
Manchester City, meanwhile, are nine points above Aston Villa, who beat Lille 1-0 in the Nations League first leg, and 12 points above Chelsea, who were thrashed 5-2 by Paris Saint-Germain and will face League One side Port Vale in the FA Cup. Chelsea lost 0-1 to Galatasaray in the Champions League and are tied with defending champion Liverpool on 48 points. Tottenham Hotspur suffered a 2-5 defeat at Atletico Madrid in midweek, Newcastle lost the lead at the last moment and drew 1-1 with Barcelona, ​​and Nottingham Forest lost 0-1 to Midtjylland in the Europa League. Defending FA Cup champions Crystal Palace drew 0-0 with AEK Larnaca in the UEFA Europa League, while Leeds United will challenge West Ham United away in the FA Cup.
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In fact, the only team in the Premier League’s top six to play just one game is Manchester United.
In the 2024/25 season, Manchester United lost to Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League final, finishing 15th and gaining nothing. After a dismal season, Manchester United lost to Grimsby Town in the League Cup and suffered a series of humiliating defeats. It wasn’t long before the likes of Steve Grieve cast doubt on Ruben Amorim’s ability to lead United’s new chapter, with the Portuguese manager eventually sacked at the start of the year and replaced by interim manager Darren Fletcher, who performed well but was eliminated by Brighton in the FA Cup. Nonetheless, United turned a new page under Carrick, beating Manchester City, Arsenal, Fulham and Tottenham in his first four games before narrowly escaping with a 1-1 draw at West Ham.
The Red Devils beat Everton 1-0 and Crystal Palace 2-1 before losing 2-1 to Newcastle but still find themselves in a good position to return to the Champions League. United are level with fourth-placed Villa on 51 points and can move three points clear with a win at home on Sunday. Unlike Villa who only have three days to recover from their trip to France, United will have 11 days off for this game. But how have United and Villa fared in their last few games? Let’s take a look.
Not long ago, Manchester United was a thorn in Villa’s side. Between 2011 and 2016, Manchester United won 10 of 11 games and drew once. Three years later, Villa returned to the top flight and faced Manchester United again. Jack Grealish took an early lead, but Tom Heaton (now at Manchester United) and Victor Lindelof (now at Villa) scored a goal each, but Tyrone Mings immediately equalized. Take a point at Old Trafford. Manchester United won the second game 3-0 and then won 2-1 and 3-1. After scoring in three consecutive games against Villa, Bruno Fernandes remained silent and Courtney House’s late winner sealed victory at the Theater of Dreams. Nonetheless, United came back to start 2022 on the right foot, with an early goal from Scott McTominay helping them win 1-0 in the FA Cup. A brace from Fernandes made it two goals for United five days later, but Jacob Ramsey and Philippe Coutinho scored twice in quick succession in the West Midlands.
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Villa were on course to make it two wins in a week against Manchester United after a 3-1 win in the league, but Hag’s side erased a two-game deficit to win 4-2 in the Carabao Cup thanks to goals from Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, Fernandes and McTominay. Fernandez was outstanding again in the following game, scoring the only goal of the game and proving why he is a role model for countless young Portuguese talents such as Rodrigo Moura and Ricardo Neto. United then fought back from an early two-goal deficit to win 3-2 thanks to Alejandro Garnacho’s brace and Rasmus Hojlund’s late winner, before winning 2-1 at Villa Park thanks to McTominay’s late winner before a goalless draw took place. Meanwhile, in the final game of the 2024/25 Premier League season, Fernandez opened the scoring for Amad Diallo in the 76th minute, before Christian Eriksen sealed the victory 2-0 with a penalty kick.
The last time Manchester United and Villa met on December 21, Morgan Rogers’ opener was immediately canceled out by Matheus Cunha’s equalizer, but Rogers responded by restoring Villa’s lead in the 57th minute to win 2-1 and pile further pressure on Amorim. Carrick will now look to further United’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League with victory over Villa, who have lost three of their last four games against English sides and drew the other at home to Leeds United.
Can Manchester United make it six home wins against Villa? Stay tuned for an epic showdown in Manchester.
