Man Utd vs Aston Villa: Premier League clash with relegation fears at Old Trafford

Manchester United host Aston Villa in a Premier League match that carries heavy weight for the home side, who are struggling near the foot of the table. According to the BBC, United must win to climb out of the relegation zone, while Villa are looking to build on a recent upturn under Unai Emery.

A struggling United against a improving Villa

United have had a poor start to the season, and the BBC describes their situation as dire. Villa also started slowly but appear to be turning their campaign around under Emery, whom the BBC calls one of the most respected coaches in the game.

The two clubs look to be moving in opposite directions, the BBC reports, with momentum currently on the side of the visitors.

Questions over the United dugout

Emery has been heavily linked with the United job, and the BBC says many United supporters would like to see him in charge at Old Trafford. Those links are tied to the possibility that United could part ways with interim head coach Michael Carrick. The BBC, citing Guillem Balague, suggested that such a move is unlikely.

No change in the dugout has been confirmed by the club.

Live match position

Live coverage has been published by The Guardian, which reported that Palace scored a late penalty to make it 1-3 in a separate match, leaving United needing to avoid defeat by a wide margin to stay off the bottom of the table. The result of the fixture itself was not part of the material available at the time of writing, so no score is reported here.

What next

United need a result to ease pressure on Carrick and the squad, while Villa will look to extend their run. Further updates on the line-ups and the outcome are expected as the match develops.

Note: Sky Sports' live blog for the fixture was unavailable when this story was prepared.

Hmm.