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Manchester United take on Aston Villa at Old Trafford this Boxing Day night, in which is sure to be a Christmas cracker.
The Red Devils are desperate to get their season back on track and should be especially motivated to impress new owners, INEOS.
New board members Sir Dave Brailsford and Jean-Claude Blanc will start work next month at Old Trafford, where they will begin an audit to determine how to get the Mancunian side back on track.
United lie a disappointing eighth in the table while Aston Villa are flying high in third position, just one point off the top. In fact, should Liverpool fail to beat Burnley today, a victory would take the Villans top of the league.
Villa often line up in a 4-4-1-1 formation and employ a high press, looking to dominate teams by getting the ball forward to their dangerous attackers of Ollie Watkins and Leon Bailey.
Therefore, how are United to stop the side from Birmingham?
Stop Ollie Watkins
Watkins has been a thorn in the side of many teams this season and is likely to be licking his lips at having a shy at this United defence. The Englishman has scored nine Premier League goals and has six assists in what has been an impressive season.
The 27 year old forward is lethal with both feet and strong in the air. He will be a major problem for Raphael Varane, Jonny Evans or Willy Kambwala to deal with.
Finding a way to nullify the England international will be crucial to securing a significant win.
Beating the offside trap
Aston Villa employ a high defensive line and are very successful at catching teams offside. United struggle with this as only Liverpool have been caught offside more times than the Red Devils this season.
Therefore, between Villa’s high line and United’s tendency to be caught offside, expect a few flags for Erik ten Hag’s men. However, you only need to break through once and with Marcus Rashford, Rasmus Hojlund and Alejandro Garnacho, they have the weapons to exploit the high line.
The question is whether they can in a way they haven’t been able to all season.
Play two defensive midfielders
It may sound strange to suggest playing two more defensive players in midfield at Old Trafford but United have struggled with Scott McTominay in midfield, as it has disrupted the balance of the side.
Playing Kobbie Mainoo alongside Sofyan Amrabat may allow the Old Trafford side to control the influential Douglas Luiz and John McGinn, both of whom are massively enjoying Unai Emery’s style of play and having fruitful seasons.
United will need to find a way to not allow the Villans to flood the midfield and try to get some sort of foothold in the match.
Winning the midfield battle, cutting off the supply to Watkins and using the electric pace of their own forwards: these are the keys to winning the match for United.
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