Manchester United Women will be hoping to extend our unbeaten start to the season to seven matches across all competitions as the Reds host Aston Villa on Sunday.

After back-to-back 1-1 draws – away to Brighton and when hosting Arsenal – Marc Skinner’s side seek a return to winning ways, coming up against a Villa side who have struggled so far, taking just two points from their opening six Barclays Women’s Super League matches.

Scroll down for more information you need to know ahead of the game…

90 in 20: United Women v Arsenal Video

Women’s 90 in 20 | Make sure you watch the extended cut of our much-anticipated clash with the Gunners…

HOW CAN I WATCH THE GAME?

All United fans can purchase tickets for the 18:45 GMT kick-off at Leigh Sports Village by going to tickets.manutd.com.

Alternatively, supporters who cannot attend can watch the action live on Sky Sports in the UK.

Live radio commentary will also be available on ManUtd.com, while there will be rolling coverage and updates in our app. Highlights will be across club platforms to watch from Monday.

WHAT’S THE TEAM NEWS?

The Reds were boosted by the return of trio Melvine Malard, Geyse and Jayde Riviere, who all came on as substitutes against the Gunners last Sunday in our first game after the international break.

However, Anna Sandberg and Evie Rabjohn, who have both been nursing knee problems, were absent from the matchday squad.

Marc Skinner could provide an update on the players in his pre-match press conference on Friday.

Meanwhile, Aston Villa will welcome left-back Paula Tomas into the squad after she completed a three-match ban caused by her red card against Brighton.

Former United midfielder Lucy Staniforth made her comeback from a knee injury as a substitute in their 2-1 home defeat by Liverpool last weekend.

It remains to be seen if Jill Baijings, Rachel Corsie, Anna Leat and Georgia Mullett will have recovered from their injury issues in time to feature. Sofie Lundgaard and Faye Kirby are both long-term absentees with anterior cruciate ligament injuries.

PREVIOUS MEETINGS

United have a strong record against the Villans, winning 10 of the sides’ previous 12 meetings and are yet to taste defeat.

Last season’s clashes were tight affairs, with the Reds running out 2-1 winners in both league meetings.

Nikita Parris netted twice in front of our fans at Leigh in the first period, before Rachel Daly’s penalty in the second half halved the deficit.

CURRENT FORM

The unbeaten Reds go into the weekend’s action sitting fourth in the WSL table, having won three and drawn two of our five games so far.

Skinner’s charges are two points adrift of third-placed Brighton and five behind leaders Manchester City – both of whom have played a game more than us.

Last time out, Malard’s late equaliser earned a point against Arsenal on a day of milestones for the Reds. Millie Turner made her 150th club appearance, Skinner managed his 100th game and there was a club record crowd of 8,348 spectators for a United Women fixture at Leigh Sports Village.

Our opponents, meanwhile, are still searching for a first league win under manager Robert de Pauw. Their only two points have come in home draws against Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City.

The Villans have lost all three of their away league games, including a narrow 2-1 defeat to table-topping City in their final outing before the international break – which included a first WSL goal for Gabi Nunes.

De Pauw’s 10th-placed side are one of three teams still winless, along with West Ham United and Everton.

RIVALS WATCH

There is a full slate of league games happening elsewhere this weekend. Here’s the full list…

FRIDAY 8 NOVEMBER

Arsenal v Brighton & Hove Albion (19:00 GMT)

Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur (19:30 GMT)

SUNDAY 10 NOVEMBER

Liverpool v Chelsea (12:30 GMT)

Crystal Palace v Everton (14:00 GMT)

West Ham v Leicester City (15:00 GMT)

UNITED v Aston Villa (18:45 GMT)

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Ruud van Nistelrooy spoke about a range of subjects in his post-match press conference, following Manchester United’s Europa League victory over PAOK at Old Trafford.

After Amad’s eye-catching two-goal display, the Ivorian was the subject of several questions from the press pack, touching on the quality of his individual display, his mentality and, latterly, his condition, after being forced off late on with a knock.

Our interim head coach also pointed out his desire to halt an unwanted statistic regarding our European record, plus our second-half improvement and coming to the end of his temporary spell in charge.

Keep reading for Ruud’s reaction to all of the key topics put to him by the media, following United’s 2-0 triumph at Old Trafford on Thursday…

Ruud: Why we improved after half-time Video

Interim head coach Ruud van Nistelrooy explains what his team did better in the second half against PAOK…

Hi, Ruud, congratulations. How do you assess that performance because the first half didn’t look the best, but Amad has, kind of, come up with two goals to win you the game?
“First half wasn’t good, that’s clear, a very good point. I think we created hardly anything and PAOK neither, they didn’t create a lot, so in that sense, we were okay. But we didn’t get going. I think our possession wasn’t good enough, we made many tactical mistakes, our shape wasn’t good, it was, at times, not low enough and, every time, in that shape that we wanted to play. Second half, we were a lot better, we persisted in finding Casemiro and [Manuel] Ugarte in front of the defence, or Amad and Bruno [Fernandes] in the no.10 positions and that’s why we started playing better and creating more chances and getting the better of the game, playing in their half more. And as you said, Amad made the difference there with two good goals.”

Ruud, you described this as a ‘big period’ for the club, can you explain what you mean by that? And I wonder how you assess what you’ve done so far in terms of steadying the ship before handing over?
“Well, I think every game is important in this season and that’s why I said the short spell of four games is an important period to react, especially when we lost against West Ham. Of course, we needed to start getting results, that’s why I said that was important. Other than that, your other question was how I assess the…”

What you’ve done so far in terms of steadying the ship, before Amorim…
“Yeah. For me, it’s important now to carry on and build on results of Leicester, of Chelsea, and of PAOK. I think this second half, we can build on, the result, we can build on; our first European home win after one year. We addressed that in the dressing room and it was time to change that, you know, so we did, the players did very well doing so. And Sunday is a big game for us in the league to get a good performance in again.”

Hi, Ruud. Why do you think the team were better in the second half, did you say something to them at half-time? Was the positioning better in the second half?
“Yeah, I addressed the positioning a lot in half-time. We left positions too much in the first half, that’s why we didn’t get going, we couldn’t find our no.6s and play forward to the players that we wanted in dangerous positions, like Bruno and Amad. I think we did very well in the second half to stay in those positions and then you saw some fluidity occurring and better play on the ball and that led to more chances.”

Good evening, Mr van Nistelrooy. Amad got two goals today. Can I ask what impressed you most about his performance?
“Well, I think the second goal, that had everything in it, that for me is Amad Diallo. He fought to take the ball off the PAOK defender and then he pushed through to get the shot, and in the end, he had the quality to bend it around the goalkeeper. That sums him up.”

Highlights: United v PAOK Video

Highlights | Watch the standout action from the Reds’ fourth outing in the revamped Europa League…

Hi, Ruud. Just on Amad, still, I think it was his first start in seven games, do you think that was some extra motivation for him to take that opportunity where he hadn’t started for a while?
“Apparently so, because I think he was excellent. In the first half, he was our best player, already he looked sharp, he did well. And in the second half, he decided the game for us with two important goals, so he did excellent.”

Following on that theme, he seems like he’s a difference maker, he can be a difference maker for this side. And just following up that, how is he, with the knock?
“Yeah, of course, he had to come off. Unfortunately, he’s being assessed now and, of course, I hope that he will be available for Sunday. But we have to wait and see.”

Do you think he can be a difference maker?
“Yeah, his qualities are clear, the way he presented himself today was excellent and important for this team.”

Hi, Ruud. I was just going to ask you about the incident that took place in the first half and I think a lot of people thought that VAR would give a penalty or recommend a review on the screen. How did you see this?
“There was a situation with Amad, no, as well? I haven’t seen the TV footage yet to comment on it. But, obviously, there’s a few referees in the room to check and closely also on TV. So they didn’t think it was an obvious mistake. So then, you have to… Yeah, the game goes on.

Ruud, good evening. We’re all obviously very curious to know what happens in the next few days. Do you hope that yet another good performance that you’ve overseen will maybe enhance your prospects of being involved from next week onwards?
“I think that Ruben, what he is saying, his focus is on [Sporting against] Braga and I focus on Leicester. I think that’s a great one for now. And that shows that we’re focused on the day-by-day job and get the maximum out of the team. So let him focus on Braga, I’ll focus on Leicester. I will see after that.”

I take it you’ve had no contact with him as yet?
“I’ve got to check my phone now, so I will do so later.”

Will you be disappointed if you don’t get contact before next week?
“I’m only busy with one thing in my mind. I want my last game as an interim, I want to prepare it as good as I can and give the players everything they need to get the best performance out of them and, hopefully, get three very important games keep them at Old Trafford and that’s my absolute focus. And other than that, I don’t look too far ahead to be really honest, it’s too important.”

Matchday Review: United v PAOK Video

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Hi, Ruud. Just on Amad again, he’s been here now for I think three-and-a-half years, things have not always gone his way, he’s been in and out of the team, he’s been out on loan, and yet he still tries as you say, he still gives his all. What does that say about him as a character and can you just go into a bit more detail about you said he wants extra training, does he do that regularly?
“Yes, he’s a great character and he’s a hard worker. He shows that in every training session. So that attitude and also extra work every day after training, he comes to me and he wants to do extra finishing, extra crossing, extra one-v-ones, extra… ‘How can I improve my shot, how can I improve my heading?’ Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. And, yeah, he’s constantly focused on learning, getting better, living very professional, in a professional way, so he’s very motivated to get the maximum out of his career. And after so many games he didn’t start, he had a great performance today, so I was very pleased for him.”

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