The Debate: How will United fare against Villa?

Saturday 29 April 2023 07:00

Manchester United return to home soil this weekend, with Erik ten Hag's side set to take on Aston Villa at Old Trafford in the Premier League.

With kick-off in M16 set for 14:00 BST on Sunday, the Reds must galvanise ourselves once more following Thursday's 2-2 draw with Spurs in north London, with yet another top-four hopeful looking to cause a further dent in our hopes of Champions League football next season.

This weekend also marks a special occasion for our overseas fans in Singapore, where the next edition of #ILOVEUNITED will include a live screening of our clash with Unai Emery's men. Our famous Treble-winning strike duo of Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke will be in attendance at the event.

Presenting our latest episode of The Debate from Singapore was MUTV's Zarah Connolly and local broadcaster Justin Ang, who were joined by Cole and Yorke. The quartet were keen to discuss our chances this weekend, as we look to bolster our bid for European qualification on Sunday afternoon.

 
The Debate: Singapore special Video

The Debate: Singapore special

From a pool in Singapore, Andy Cole, Dwight Yorke and broadcaster Justin Ang debate the key talking points at United...

''I'm looking forward to the game,'' began Cole as he previewed Sunday's clash. ''I expect it to be a really tough game. I mean, Villa won't be a pushover.

''I think they've moved up to fifth now in the Premier League and they're playing some real good stuff, so they're not going to lie down for anybody.

''So like I said, we just expect a tough game and fingers crossed we can get the right result.''

Yorke echoed that very same sentiment, as the Reds prepare to take on a club the former United forward spent eight years with from 1990-1998.

''I think they've gone unbeaten in seven games or something like that,'' he added. ''So they're in a fantastic rich vein of form and United [have] just got to just go and play.

''That's what the game is about and no team is going to lie down and let us take three points off them.

''Villa are trending. They're trending and they've probably got a little bit of a window there. They haven't tasted European football for a while and this is probably a really good opportunity.''

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Cole added how Ten Hag will see tomorrow's game as an additional chance for United to bounce back in another high-pressure situation.

''I think he might be a little bit disappointed, especially after playing Seville, losing in that game, and then dropping a couple of league points here and there as well,'' said Cole.

''I think he might be a little bit disappointed, but that's football, especially at this stage of the season as well.''

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