\n<\/p>\n
Who:<\/strong> Manchester United vs Aston Villa Manchester United and Aston Villa face a crunch clash on Sunday in the race for UEFA Champions League qualification.<\/p>\n list of 4 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n The pair hold third and fourth spots respectively in the Premier League, with United edging Villa on goal difference, while Chelsea and Liverpool sit three points behind the pair in fifth and sixth.<\/p>\n With only the top four being guaranteed a place at the top table of European football, the encounter at Old Trafford holds huge value to both with nine games to go of the season.<\/p>\n Al Jazeera Sport takes a closer look at the match.<\/p>\n Manchester United\u2019s \u2060interim manager Michael Carrick on Friday said his players were \u201citching to get going\u201d again, after suffering their first \u2060defeat under his leadership.<\/p>\n Last week, 10-man Newcastle United ended Carrick\u2019s unbeaten run since he replaced Ruben \u2060Amorim in January.<\/p>\n \u201cI understand the first defeat feels different but it was going to come at \u200csome point. Most teams have suffered that at some point,\u201d Carrick told reporters.<\/p>\n \u201cIt has been a really good week in some ways, we have put ourselves in a position where there is a lot to play for.\u201d<\/p>\n United\u2019s \u2060defeat by Newcastle prompted a dig from former player Paul Scholes, \u2060who wrote on Instagram: \u201cMichael has definitely got something special about him \u2026 cos Utd have been crap last four games.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked about his former teammate\u2019s comment, Carrick said: \u201cIt was nothing really, nothing to say about it really.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that is just where we are in terms of social media and things, and captions and quotes. It can be taken in different ways, so just be calm about it and understand the real meaning of things.<\/p>\n \u201cListen, there are different opinions out there and it\u2019s fine. People can have different opinions.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just things get taken from one extreme to another. It is what it is. I am not worried about it and don\u2019t make a big deal of it either.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s nothing to say about it, really,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Villa had a turbulent start to the campaign, as they failed to register a win in their first five league matches \u2013 losing two. A run of 12 league wins in 13, however, propelled them into a title challenge by the turn of the year.<\/p>\n A 4-1 defeat at Arsenal on New Year\u2019s Eve marked the start of another downturn, though, with only three wins recorded in 11 games starting with the defeat in London.<\/p>\n The midlands club have lost three of their last five on the road in the league, recording only one win in that time.<\/p>\n United suffered their first defeat under Carrick in their match at Newcastle United on March 4.<\/p>\n The home side were reduced to 10 men when Jacob Ramsey was sent off on the stroke of half-time.<\/p>\n It came in a frantic end to the first half that saw Anthony Gorden give Newcastle an injury-time lead from the penalty spot, only for Casemiro to head home an equaliser to send the sides in level.<\/p>\n William Osula netted the winner in the 90th minute to give Eddie Howe\u2019s side all three points despite their numerical disadvantage.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was disappointing the way the game ended (against Newcastle) but we have digested that, looked at it and learned from it,\u201d Carrick said ahead of the Villa match.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have trained really well this week and the boys are itching to get going.\u201d<\/p>\n Villa were 1-0 winners at Lille in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday, ending a four-game winless streak that included three defeats.<\/p>\n Ollie Watkins scored the only goal of the game in the 61st minute.<\/p>\n The return leg will be played at Villa Park on Thursday.<\/p>\n Villa recorded a 2-1 win in the reverse Premier League fixture at Villa Park in December, despite an encouraging display for Ruben Amorim\u2019s United.<\/p>\n Morgan Rogers scored both goals for Villa \u2013 his first was scored in the 45th minute but United were level in first-half stoppage time through Matheus Cunha.<\/p>\n United were 2-1 winners in the Premier League match at Old Trafford last season.<\/p>\n The Red Devils were greatly aided by the sending off of Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez just before the break.<\/p>\n Amad Diallo and an 87th minute Christian Eriksen penalty sealed the win for the home side.<\/p>\n This will be the 202nd meeting between the clubs with Manchester United winning 107 of the matches. Aston Villa have won 52 of the encounters, which date back to November 1892 and a 2-0 home win for United in the old Division One.<\/p>\n Carrick said Mason Mount had taken a \u201cbig step\u201d and could return from a two-month absence against Villa this weekend.<\/p>\n The \u200cmidfielder missed their last six league games due to injury.<\/p>\n \u201cHe is an important player for us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cHe is not 100 percent and he has only trained for a small period of time. \u200cBut \u200che is back and that\u2019s good for us. We will see if he is involved on Sunday. That is it in terms of the players coming back.\u201d<\/p>\n Matthijs de Ligt, Patrick Dorgu and Mason Mount all remain absent though, and Lisandro Martinez has been added to that list with a calf injury, while there remains an injury doubt over Luke Shaw.<\/p>\n The defender was forced off with injury in the defeat by Newcastle, but Noussair Mazraoui, who also came off injured in that game, is set to be available.<\/p>\n Midfielder John McGinn returned to action at Lille on Thursday night and could be in line for a start at Old Trafford.<\/p>\n Youri Tielemans and Boubacar Kamara remain absent through injury, leaving a gaping hole in the middle of the Villa lineup.<\/p>\n Right-back Matty Cash is also a doubt having missed the Lille match after picking up a knock in Villa\u2019s last Premier League outting.<\/p>\n Lammens; Mazraoui, Yoro, Maguire, Shaw; Casemiro, Mainoo, Mbeumo, Fernandes, Cunha; Sesko<\/p>\n Martinez; Bogarde, Konsa, Torres, Maatsen; Luiz, Onana, Sancho, Rogers, Buendia; Watkins<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Who: Manchester United vs Aston VillaWhat: English football\u2019s Premier LeagueWhere: Old Trafford, Manchester, United KingdomWhen: Sunday March 15, at 2pm (14:00 GMT)How to follow: Al Jazeera\u2019s live coverage begins at 11:00 GMT Manchester United and Aston Villa face a crunch clash on Sunday in the race for UEFA Champions League qualification. Recommended Stories list of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15046","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15046","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15046"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15046\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15046"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15046"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15046"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
What:<\/strong> English football\u2019s Premier League
Where:<\/strong> Old Trafford, Manchester, United Kingdom
When:<\/strong> Sunday March 15, at 2pm (14:00 GMT)
How to follow:<\/strong> Al Jazeera\u2019s live coverage begins at 11:00 GMT<\/p>\nRecommended Stories <\/h2>\n
Man Utd look to bounce back from first defeat under Carrick<\/h2>\n
Carrick brushes off Scholes dig at Man Utd<\/h2>\n
How have Aston Villa fared in the Premier League this season?<\/h2>\n
Last up for Man Utd<\/h2>\n
Last up for Aston Villa<\/h2>\n
What happened the last time Man Utd played Aston Villa?<\/h2>\n
What happened in the corresponding fixture between Man Utd and Villa last season?<\/h2>\n
Head-to-head<\/h2>\n
Manchester United team news<\/h2>\n
Aston Villa team news<\/h2>\n
Manchester United predicted starting lineup<\/h2>\n
Aston Villa predicted starting lineup<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"