Manchester United will wrap up a truly woeful campaign by welcoming Champions League hopefuls Aston Villa to Old Trafford in the final fixture of the Premier League on Sunday.
Unai Emery’s side travel to Manchester as firm favourites with Ruben Amorim’s men at rock bottom after the Europa League final defeat to Tottenham Hotspur ended any hope of salvaging something from their rotten season.
Amorim has promised his team is fully focused on signing off with a win, but that feels highly unlikely given the form and feeling around the two sides.
With that in mind it’s difficult to predict the XI Amorim will start tomorrow and therefore the tactics, with the argument for sending out the side that failed so miserably in Bilbao as compelling as dropping the lot of them.
However, after Amorim’s presser, it’s looking likely United fans will get the chance to express their dissatisfaction at the majority of players who have let them down time and time again over the last twelve months and Villa will face a ‘strong’ home side.
If this is the case, United will hope for a much better performance from captain Bruno Fernandes who picked the worst possible time for a howler on Wednesday but remains Amorim’s best hope for a goal.
Fernandes must start as part of the front three which will give him the best chance of penetrating Villa’s backline and creating an opening for himself or a teammate.
Getting the Portugal international into the pockets behind the pivot of Amadou Onana and Boubacar Kamara, who can be found wanting at times, should give United the opportunity to create an opening or two.
Villa’s full backs can also be found wanting at times and is among the weak points of Emery’s side. Amad should enjoy his afternoon against Luca Digne if he starts at wing back and starts running at the Frenchman from the off.
Matty Cash on the other side is arguably weaker than Digne and Fernandes’ movement inside could drag the Pole and leave space for Patrick Dorgu to exploit.
United have used the long diagonal from right centre-back to Dorgu throughout the season and tomorrow’s game could be a perfect chance to reignite a tactic that we haven’t seen in recent weeks.
Defensively, United continue to defy logic by looking relatively solid at times to contributing to their own downfall with individual errors.
Given Villa’s need for points and United’s European hangover, it would be a major surprise to see the visitors not trouble Andre Onana and the way the Cameroonian’s season has gone, it’ll take a minor miracle for him to keep a clean sheet.
Emery has options galore going forward and the quicksilver Morgan Rodgers will provide a real threat with former Real Madrid man Marco Asensio hoping to pull the creative strings.
Brennan Johnson provided Spurs’ only bit of movement on Wednesday evening, yet it was enough to see the Londoners return home with the trophy. Emery’s Villa will be ten times more dangerous.
Therefore, United’s three at the back will need to be switched on all afternoon and with Villa’s options off the bench as dangerous as their starters, Amorim’s backline will be tested from start to finish.
Harry Maguire will be tasked with keeping England international Ollie Watkins quiet, a player who Amorim would dearly love to have in his side going into next season, however unlikely that now looks with no European football to offer.
Maguire will need a near perfect performance alongside his centre-back teammates whose lack of intensity has cost United throughout the campaign.
It will all come down to what desire United have left in them. The majority of the players will be playing for their futures at the club and it shouldn’t be too hard to muster.
Despite the shoddy season, Sunday is a chance to show they still have the stomach to play for the club and Amorim will be desperate to see something from his players who have struggled so badly to adapt to his methods since his arrival.
Feature image Michael Steele via Getty Images
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Conner Botterill
Conner Botterill has been with The Peoples Person for two years. A keen match-going red with degrees in Sport and Journalism and Philosophy and Psychology, Conner still believes he has a chance of making United’s first team through his 5-a-side career.
