Man Utd vs Aston Villa: Premier League preview, team news, stats, prediction, kick-off time

Team news, stats and prediction ahead of Man Utd vs Aston Villa in the Premier League on Saturday; kick-off 3pm.

Team news

Manchester United striker Edinson Cavani is back in the squad for Saturday's Premier League clash with Aston Villa.

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The 34-year-old Uruguay international has not played since the end of August because of a muscle strain, but has returned to training and is in contention for Villa's trip to Old Trafford.

Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made 11 changes for the Carabao Cup third-round defeat by West Ham in midweek - defender Alex Telles made his first appearance of the season - and his big names are likely to return, although striker Marcus Rashford (shoulder) and midfielder Amad (thigh) are still out.

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Aston Villa's Leon Bailey is sidelined for a number of weeks with a quad problem.

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The forward injured himself scoring in Saturday's 3-0 win over Everton and is out until after October's international break.

Morgan Sanson (hamstring) is also unavailable while United loanee Axel Tuanzebe cannot play against his parent club and Trezeguet (knee) is a long-term absentee.

How to follow

Follow Man Utd vs Aston Villa in our dedicated live match blog. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel at 5.15pm.

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Last time out...

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Jones Knows Prediction

Manchester United are making a fool of me at the moment but, although results in the Premier League are positive for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, I still feel they rely far too much on individual moments of brilliance to be considered a serious title challenger. There really wasn't much in the game at West Ham on Super Sunday until Jesse Lingard stuck one in the top corner. And it really wasn't a surprise to me to see their back-up players fail to match the Hammers' teamwork and quality on Wednesday. Another poor result - or three - is on the horizon but not this weekend. I'm not fully convinced Villa are operating quite at a level to win at Old Trafford. A nervy home win courtesy of a piece of magic will probably do the job. As it does most weeks.

Mike Dean is the man in the middle for this fixture - a referee with sound judgement but one that isn't afraid to turn a borderline decision into a big call. I just feel, with the spotlight being fixed on United's unsuccessful penalty appeals at West Ham last weekend and in midweek, VAR will be paying particular attention to any foul play inside the box. Under Solskjaer, United have won 32 Premier League penalties, nine more than any other side while Aston Villa rank second for most fouls committed in the last two seasons. Also, Tyrone Mings is always a player with a mistimed tackle in him. At 11/4 with Sky Bet, United to score from the spot has potential.

SCORE PREDICTION: 2-1

Opta stats

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• Manchester United have won 18 of their last 21 home league games against Aston Villa (D2 L1), failing to score on just one occasion in that run.
• Aston Villa have picked up just one win in their last 45 Premier League games against Manchester United (D11 L33) and are winless in their last 17 against them since a 1-0 win at Old Trafford in December 2009.
• In Premier League history, no side has won more games against an opponent than Manchester United's 37 victories against Aston Villa.
• Since a goalless draw with Manchester City last December, Manchester United have scored in each of their last 15 Premier League home games (44 goals in total). However, the Red Devils have also conceded in each of their last seven league games at Old Trafford, last having a longer top-flight home run without a clean sheet in February 1972 (8 games).
• Manchester United are the highest scorers in the Premier League so far this season with 13 goals. With an expected goals total of eight, the Red Devils are also overperforming their xG more than any other side this season (5 goals more).
• Aston Villa have lost both of their Premier League away games this season, conceding three goals in each defeat. Indeed, the Villans have lost five of their last eight away league games (W2 D1), more than they had in their previous 15 on the road (W7 D4 L4).

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