Ronaldo is ill, but United could play well
Will they avoid defeat tonight?
The last game before Remembrance Sunday will be marked by wreaths on the pitch. Unai Emery knows how to negotiate cup competitions. He knows how to balance league and cup commitments. His experience in the Europa League will translate to this Aston Villa team. Villa won comfortably when these teams last met.
Erik Ten Hag will not want to lose to the same team twice. Fans will hope United learnt a thing or two from their weekend embarrassment. Emery will rely on Villa fans to get them over the line. He has characterised support for the team as amazing. Sunday's win was Emery's first game in charge after Steven Gerrard was sacked.
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Emery intends to play with the same style in tonight's game that was so successful for them on the weekend. His only hope is that the players level of performance stays up. Cristiano Ronaldo will not captain the United squad today as he is out with illness. Maybe that will change the acceptability of the performance the manager sees tonight.
Ten Hag has challenged his players to react after they were humiliated. The manager's only desire is to proceed to the next round so he will not be fielding a weak team. The culture at United is a winning one and Ten Hag intends to honour it. He praised his players' attitude in recent weeks, suggesting the weekend display was a blip.
United fans not confident
Emery has made seven changes to his starting lineup, and has included ex-United player Ashley Young in the proceedings. As Arsenal manager, Emery drew twice with United at the same venue. He was also defeated twice in the Champions League. United fans are worried by the return of defenders Maguire and Lindelof.
