Overview
Manchester United and Aston Villa both hope to recover after recent disappointing results when the two teams faced each other at Old Trafford. This match could directly affect the race for a UEFA Champions League spot.
Man United returned to Old Trafford after a 1-2 away defeat to Newcastle, even though the opponent had only 10 players left. Jacob Ramsey was sent off in the first half, before Casemiro equalized for Man United after Anthony Gordon's opening penalty. However, William Osula's beautiful shot in the 90th minute brought victory to the home team.
This is Man United's first defeat in 7 Premier League matches since Michael Carrick returned to lead the team in his second term. After losing 3 in the first 6 matches of the season (2 wins, 1 draw), the "Red Devils" have only lost 3 more matches in the last 23 rounds (13 wins, 7 draws).
This improved form - including victories against Manchester City and Arsenal - helps Man United currently have the same 51 points as Aston Villa, who are in fourth place, but slightly better in goal difference.
Old Trafford is becoming a solid support for Carrick. He has won all 5 of his first home games in the Premier League as Man United coach (one in 2021 and 4 in 2026). In the history of the league, only 3 coaches have won the first 6 home games including Sven-Goran Eriksson, Carlo Ancelotti and Manuel Pellegrini.
Man United's scoring ability is also quite stable. They have scored in 17 consecutive matches in the Premier League since the 0-1 defeat to Everton in November. The last time they had a longer scoring streak was from November 2012 to April 2013 under Alex Ferguson with 23 matches.
On the other side, coach Unai Emery also understands that Aston Villa needs to improve their form after the 1-4 defeat to Chelsea in the Premier League. Villa somewhat regained his spirit when defeating Lille 1-0 in the first leg of the UEFA Europa League round of 16 thanks to Ollie Watkins' header.
However, Villa's performance in the Premier League still worries Emery. This team has only won 3 in the last 11 matches (3 draws, 5 losses). Since the 1-4 defeat to Arsenal on December 30, only 4 teams have earned fewer points than Villa in the league.
Part of the reason comes from the prolonged absence of Youri Tielemans and Boubacar Kamara in midfield. However, John McGinn returned from the bench in the match against Lille.
When no one in the trio of Tielemans, Kamara and McGinn started, Villa only won one in 6 Premier League matches (2 draws, 3 losses), averaging 0.8 points/match. Conversely, when all three started from the beginning, Villa won 7/10 matches (2 draws, 1 loss), averaging 2.3 points/match.
McGinn's return may give Morgan Rogers more space to play football. Rogers has not scored or assisted in the last 4 Premier League matches, but he is still one of Villa's most important attacking factors.
Head-to-head record
In the first leg in December 2025, Rogers' double helped Aston Villa win 2-1. Emery's team is aiming to win both legs against Man United for the first time since the 1954-1955 season.
However, Old Trafford is not an easy land for Villa. Man United have only lost 2 of their last 37 home matches in the Premier League against this opponent (28 wins, 7 draws), two defeats both with a score of 0-1 in 2009 and 2021.
Last season, Man United won against Villa 2-0 at home thanks to late goals from Amad Diallo and Christian Eriksen. The match also caused controversy when Rogers' opening goal was disallowed because he fouled Altay Bayindir, and Emiliano Martinez was sent off in the first half.
Score prediction: Man United 1-0 Aston Villa
The match between Man United and Aston Villa takes place at 9:00 PM on March 15th (Vietnam time).
