Manchester United vs Aston Villa

Resurgent Manchester United and high-flying Aston Villa are set to trade tackles at the Optus Stadium, Perth, in a mouth-watering pre-season showdown.

Inspired by new manager Erik ten Hag and in-form Anthony Martial, Manchester United have gone from strength to strength this summer, winning all three pre-season matches by an aggregate score of 11-2. A hat-trick of multi-goal margin triumphs over Liverpool, Melbourne Victory and Crystal Palace should bolster the spirits in the ‘Red Devils’ dressing room amid malicious talks linking talismanic forward Cristiano Ronaldo with a summer exit. However, Man United can ill-afford to get complacent, knowing Villa seemingly had their number last season. Indeed, the three-time European champions were winless in both Premier League H2Hs in 2021/22 (D1, L1), including a disappointing 1-0 defeat at Old Trafford.

Meanwhile, it’s been an impressive pre-season for Aston Villa following an underwhelming 14th-place Premier League finish last season. Danny Ings converted a spot-kick to fire Villa to a narrow 1-0 triumph over A-League side Brisbane Roar last time out, maintaining his team’s 100% win ratio across three summer friendlies. Before departing for their Australian Tour, Steven Gerrard’s men thumped lower-league opposition Walsall 4-0 before eking out a 1-0 win over fellow Premier League rivals Leeds United in their first outing in Australia. By contrast, the ‘Lions’ went winless in four consecutive league matches down the final stretch of last season (D2, L2), despite finding the back of the net on each occasion.