All across the Premier League, you’ll find a number of teams juggling multiple competitions at the same time. League leaders Arsenal are chasing a quadruple under Mikel Arteta, with the Gunners set to take on Manchester City in the EFL Cup Final before traveling to Southampton in the FA Cup quarterfinal. Before that, though, they’ll be seeking to improve on a disappointing 1-1 draw at Bayer Leverkusen with a strong display in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie. With a game
in hand on every single team in the league, Arsenal sit seven points above City, who are praying for a miracle after their 3-0 defeat at Real Madrid, and who will host Liverpool in next month’s FA Cup tie.
City, meanwhile, sit nine points above Aston Villa, who defeated Lille 1-0 in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League fixture, and 12 points above Chelsea, who fell to a 5-2 defeat in Paris Saint-Germain, and who will be taking on League One side Port Vale in the FA Cup. Chelsea are level on 48 points with defending champions Liverpool, who lost 1-0 at Galatasaray in the Champions League. There’s also Tottenham Hotspur, who suffered a humiliating 5-2 defeat at Atlético Madrid midweek, and Newcastle, who relinquished their lead at the final second and drew 1-1 to Barcelona, and Nottingham Forest, who lost 1-0 to Midtjylland in the UEFA Europa League. Reigning FA Cup winners Crystal Palace drew 0-0 to AEK Larnaca in the UEFA Conference League, whilst Leeds will travel to West Ham in the FA Cup.
Indeed, the only team in the Premier League’s top six that is playing only one competition is Manchester United.
After a dismal 2024/25 season that saw them finish 15th and go trophyless after losing to Tottenham Hotspur in the UEFA Europa League Final, United stumbled out of the gates, losing to Grimsby Town in the EFL Cup and suffering a run of humiliating defeats. It wasn’t long before the likes of Stevie Grieve were casting doubt on Rúben Amorim’s ability to lead United into a new chapter, with the Portuguese manager eventually being axed at the start of the year and replaced by interim manager Darren Fletcher, who did somewhat well but nevertheless suffered elimination at the hands of Brighton in the FA Cup. Nevertheless, United have been able to turn a new leaf under Michael Carrick, beating Manchester City, Arsenal, Fulham and Tottenham in his first four matches, before narrowly escaping with a 1-1 draw at West Ham.
The Red Devils responded with a 1-0 win at Everton and a 2-1 win vs. Crystal Palace before succumbing to a 2-1 loss at Newcastle, but they nevertheless find themselves in prime position to return to the Champions League. United sit level on 51 points with fourth-placed Villa, and they can go three points clear with a home win against Villa on Sunday. Unlike Villa, who will have just three days to recover from their trip to France, United will have had 11 days of rest going into this match. But just how have United and Villa fared in their past few meetings? Let’s take a look.
It wasn’t long ago that United were a constant thorn in Villa’s side, winning 10 out of 11 meetings and drawing once between 2011 and 2016. Three years passed before Villa returned to the top-flight and faced off against United again, taking an early lead via Jack Grealish only to concede an own goal to Tom Heaton (now at United) and a goal to Victor Lindelöf (now at Villa), but Tyrone Mings would immediately equalize to snatch a point at Old Trafford. United would prevail 3-0 in the return fixture before winning 2-1 and 3-1. After three straight matches of scoring against Villa, Bruno Fernandes was kept quiet as Kortney Hause’s late winner saw Villa grab a victory at the Theatre of Dreams. Nevertheless, United would bounce back and kick off 2022 on the right foot, with Scott McTominay’s early goal seeing United win 1-0 in the FA Cup. Five days later, Fernandes put United two goals to the good with a brace, but Jacob Ramsey and Philippe Coutinho would score twice in quick succession in the West Midlands.
After winning 3-1 in league play, Villa looked set to make it two wins in a week against United, only for Erik ten Hag’s side to erase two deficits and win 4-2 in the EFL Cup via goals from Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, Fernandes and McTominay. Fernandes was back at it again in the following encounter, scoring the game’s sole goal and proving why he is a role model for countless young Portuguese talents like Rodrigo Mora and Ricardo Neto. United then brushed off an early two-goal deficit and prevailed 3-2 via Alejandro Garnacho’s brace and Rasmus Højlund’s late winner, before winning 2-1 at Villa Park courtesy of McTominay’s late winner, followed by a goalless draw. The final match of the 2024/25 Premier League season, meanwhile, would see Fernandes set up Amad Diallo’s opener in the 76th minute, while Christian Eriksen sealed the 2-0 win from the penalty spot.
United and Villa last faced off against each other on December 21, with Morgan Rogers’ opener being immediately cancelled out by Matheus Cunha’s equalizer before the break, but Rogers would nevertheless respond by restoring Villa’s lead in the 57th minute to snatch a 2-1 win and mount pressure on Amorim even further. Now, Carrick will be seeking to further United’s Champions League hopes with a victory against a Villa side that has lost three of its last four matches vs. English teams, drawing the other to Leeds at home.
Can United make it six home wins on the bounce vs. Villa? Stay tuned for what promises to be an epic showdown in Manchester.
