Aston Villa head to Manchester United this Boxing Day with a point to prove following Friday night's shock 1-1 draw with relegation fighters Sheffield United. Unai Emery's side were frustrated by the Blades' low block and a host of key refereeing decisions going against them but another chance awaits on Tuesday for a more positive result.
The Villans take on Man Utd at a good moment as they are without a win in four matches across all competitions. Erik ten Hag's men lost 3-0 to AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League, were defeated 1-0 by Bayern Munich in the Champions League, and drew in their Premier League clashes with Liverpool and West Ham United.
Emery has a slight selection headache as Boubacar Kamara and Matty Cash are both suspended, while Pau Torres remains an injury doubt. Youri Tielemans is expected to be sidelined for a couple of weeks more, while Emiliano Buendia and Tyrone Mings are out until the end of the campaign.
With all of that in mind, here's the starting XI we think Villa will put out at Old Trafford.
1. GK - Emi Martinez
Martinez is one of the best goalkeepers in the world and has no threat for his starting spot whatsoever.
2. RB - Ezri Konsa
The ever-reliable Konsa moves across to right-back due to Matty Cash’s ban for accumulating five yellows.
3. CB - Diego Carlos
Carlos was benched on Friday but is likely to be recalled with Konsa making the move to full-back.
4. CB - Clement Lenglet
The Frenchman slotted in for Pau Torres against the Blades and we reckon it’ll be the same again. Emery says Pau is touch-and-go, so we don’t think he’ll be risked.