MANCHESTER UNITED travel to Aston Villa this weekend with youngster Alejandro Garnacho pressing for only his fourth Premier League start for the Red Devils.
United travel to Villa on Park on Sunday afternoon looking to maintain their recent run of good form in domestic and European competition.
And winger Garnacho will be hoping his recent good form will earn him a place in Erik Ten Hag’s starting XI this weekend.
The Spaniard was on target in the Red Devils’ Europa League triumph over Real Sociedad on Thursday night – scoring the only goal of the game.
The 18-year-old’s display in the Basque Country has made a solid case for him to start against the Villans.
Another Red Devil who made a strong case to start at Villa Park is club skipper Harry Maguire.
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The England international returned to the starting XI in last weekend’s 1-0 victory over West Ham and also featured in the win over Sociedad.
Maguire turned in a steady performance worthy of retaining his place in the starting XI.
The 29-year-old’s back-to-back starts against the Hammers and Sociedad came after he was dropped from the XI following United’s horror shows against Brighton and Brentford in August.
Victory at the Reale Arena wasn’t enough for United top Group E, meaning Ten Hag’s troops will have to go into a playoff against a demoted team from this year’s Champions League.
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He said: “You do not always get what you deserve.
“That’s always football. The first leg, you get a penalty that isn’t a penalty. Today we win. So I’m happy with that.”
Ten Hag said of Garnacho’s strike: “Some other things like the performance from Garnacho, Donny back in the team, we made a really good goal.
“But, of course, we are disappointed because we didn’t score the two goals we need.
“Antony was not available, Anthony Martial was not available, Jadon Sancho was not available, so it’s thin, and I am really happy with Garnacho’s performance.
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“He was a threat, he scored a goal, he was reliable in defending, so I hope he can keep this going.
“It was a great attack, Bruno [Fernandes], Ronny [Cristiano Ronaldo] and a great finish, it was really enjoyable.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
