Rogers could be pivotal to Aston Villa’s bid to extend their winning steak at home tomorrow. — Reuters
Red Devils bid to keep unbeaten run alive against in-form Villa
ASTON Villa’s run of outstanding form of late will come under the microscope again this weekend, this time when Manchester United visit.
Unai Emery’s charges are on a quite exceptional run of results that has seen them win their last nine games in a row across all competitions.
By any standards, that is a remarkably good sequence, and in the Premier League tomorrow, they will attempt to make it 10 out of 10, at Villa Park.
Can they do it? The answer for most is in the affirmative.
However, there are Villa detractors who believe Ruben Amorim’s Red Devils will stretch their own unbeaten league run to five league matches.
This would be a new high for this once mighty club in the Portuguese coach’s reign – albeit just over a year now.
What sways many to think that United might not win this one is their defence, or lack of it.
This was illuminated on Monday night when they engaged Bournemouth in a seesaw 4-4 draw that many touted as the game of the season.
From a purist’s standpoint, that was enthralling football, simply the best we’ve watched in this campaign thus far.
But for a coach like Amorim, whose club harbour such lofty ambitions, it was a case of them delivering on their craft going forward in attack, but dreadfully deficient in defence – conceding four in a single game.
Indeed, apart from the bottom four in the table, only one other team have conceded more in the league than United’s 26 goals shipped this season, and that’s Bournemouth themselves (28).
Villa will know fully of the Red Devils’ slack defence and plot to exploit it, perhaps with the in-form Morgan Rogers at the forefront of their advances.
The cunning England international deployed by Emery as Villa’s No.10, can play as an out-and-out striker, winger or attacking midfielder – all the while proving a menace to the opposition.
There is little doubt that United will want his movements curtailed at Villa Park.
Then again, the visitors will be aiming to also shackle the others in Villa’s front six, who have shown a cohesiveness that has made them a wonderful watch in full flight since they overcame their slow start to the campaign.
Ollie Watkins appears to have found his form again, just in time to make a case for the England World Cup squad, alongside Donyell Malen, John McGinn and Youri Tielemans, and in front of Matty Cash marshalling the defence and Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
Amorim said after the Bournemouth game that they had good enough personnel in the backline and just needed to work things out to function on the same wavelength, and of course with the sort of grit and determination required at this club.
Matthijs de Ligt and Harry Maguire are expected to have recovered from injury in time for the Villa clash, but Man United will be without Noussair Mazraoui, who is with Morocco at the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon).
Amorim will also have to do without the suspended Casemiro, Benjamin Sesko nursing a knee injury and illness, and Amad Diallo and Bryan Mbeumo, who are also on Afcon duty.
Notwithstanding the absentees, United should still have enough in reserve to make a fist of the Villa encounter, where the home side will be just as keen to win a 10th game on the trot and do it in front of their home fans.
