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25 min From that United corner, casemiro went down expecting a penalty as he wrestled with Barkley. Checked and cleared.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a010.25 EDT<\/p>\n 24 min Villa\u2019s turn to apply some pressure. Rogers whips the ball into the penalty spot, where someone half-clears it, and then McGinn sends a shot well wide.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 23 min Save! By Martinez, low to his right, from a header by Amad that was en route to the far corner.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 22 min United win a corner (still no shots), then another, which gets the crowd going.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a010.22 EDT<\/p>\n 17 min Another fine cross, from Dalot this time, and another failure to meet it. If Sesko had been picked, he might have had two goals already.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 20 min Shaw tries to get Mbeumo more involved with a long ball. He can\u2019t get on the end of it, which rather sums up this game so far: we\u2019ve only had one shot, and it wasn\u2019t on target.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a010.20 EDT<\/p>\n 17 min Cunha bursts down the United left and sends in a gorgeous cross with his weaker foot, his left. Nobody can get a head to it, though Amad feels he had his shirt pulled by Tyrone Mings. The VAR does not agree.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a010.19 EDT<\/p>\n 15 min Although United have had a fair amount of the ball, the three least busiest players in the game so far have been their front three \u2013 Mbeaumo with two touches, Cunha with four and Amad with six.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 15 min Bruno Fernandes, fed by Mbeumo, sniffs his first assist but his cross is too low and easily headed away. McGinn tries to send Watkins through, but Maguire shakes him off and leaves him on the floor.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 14 min Ollie Watkins gets involved on the left wing and eventually fouls Casemiro.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 13 min Gary Neville reckons United are struggling with Villa\u2019s shape. \u201cSo compact under Unai Emery.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 11 min The free kick is taken short, with McGinn trying to block the defenders breaking from the wall. Anthony Taylor is wise to it and gives a free kick to United.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 9 min Another foul by Casemiro as Buendia dribbles forward in the inside-left channel. The free kick is 25 yards out and half the Villa team hold a conference about it.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 8 min Another ambitious ball from Casemiro, seeking to send Dalot through; another misfire. Then Casemiro fouls John McGinn.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 5 min Better from Maguire, who picks uop a loose ball and charges into midfield \u2013 but then plays a loose pass of his own that doesn\u2019t reach Cunha.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 5 min Now United\u2019s centre-backs are needed in the air as Ross Barkley goes long with a good ball. Yoro half-clears it, Maguire has a go too and then wins a soft-looking free kick.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 4 min Shaw dribbles down the left and tees up Cunha, whose cross is a good one \u2013 but well dealt with by Villa\u2019s centre-backs.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 3 min United string some quick passes together, Casemiro to Amad to Fernandes to Casemiro, who goes long and loses it. Mbeumo, as expected, is at centre-forward.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 1 min Villa get forward right away but the first free kick goes to United. Harry Maguire lobs it long, to little effect.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Bruno Fernandes addresses the United huddle, with no ref in the middle. The cameras find Emi Martinez, who was sent off here in May.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The players and managers come out. The cameras go in close on Michael Carrick, who keeps calm and applauds the fans in the Bobby Charlton stand.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n If you\u2019re a United fan, you may only dimly remember their last game, which was on 4 March. (Their opponents that night, Newcastle, have played twice since, drawing with Barcelona and winning at Chelsea.) I tried to make sense of the defeat at St James\u2019 Park for United Writing<\/a>, the free newsletter I started with Rob Smyth to comment on nearly all United\u2019s games, not just the glamorous ones.<\/p>\n My line was that there was no need to panic, as it had taken a worldie (from William Osula) for Carrick to lose his unbeaten record. It\u2019s a view that may well look naive if United stumble again today. That\u2019s sportswriting, though: as in politics, we can all be left looking clueless by events, dear boy, events. And of course we\u2019re quite capable of being wrong about anything.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a009.59 EDT<\/p>\n Everyone is either too busy or not busy enough, a wise literary agent once told me. She was talking about authors but the point applies to sportspeople too.<\/p>\n Which would you rather be? Morgan Rogers, ricocheting from Lille to Manchester with an England camp looming, or, say, Luke Shaw, who\u2019s just had a weekend off, may not get an England recall and could soon find himself with a 24-day lull between United\u2019s trip to Bournemouth this Friday and the home game against Leeds on 13 April. That\u2019s not just an international break: it\u2019s a full Easter holidays.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a009.34 EDT<\/p>\n This is a big game, but it may not be the biggest game Manchester United<\/a> have this afternoon. Their women\u2019s team play Chelsea in the League Cup final, kicking off at 2.15pm GMT, a quarter of an hour after the men. It\u2019s a curious clash that would present a dilemma for many club owners, though perhaps not Jim Ratcliffe. We\u2019re live-blogging both, with Billy Munday covering the final.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Teams in full<\/p>\n Manchester United (4-2-3-1) Lammens; Dalot, Yoro, Maguire, Shaw; Casemiro, Mainoo; Amad, Fernandes, Cunha; Mbeumo.<\/p>\n Subs: Bayindir, Mazraoui, Heaven, Malacia, Ugarte, T Fletcher, Mount, Zirkzee, Sesko.<\/p>\n Aston Villa (4-2-3-1) Martinez; Bogarde, Konsa, Mings, Digne; Onana, Barkley; Buendia, McGinn, Rogers; Watkins.<\/p>\n Subs: Bizot, Garcia, Lindelof, Torres, Maatsen, Luiz, Elliott, Bailey, Abraham. <\/p>\n Referee Anthony Taylor.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Teams in brief: Villa<\/p>\n Unai Emery shakes up his midfield. John McGinn is back from the start, as mooted, and he\u2019s joined by Ross Barkley, who usually gets only a cameo. At a guess, McGinn will be the no. 10 and Barkley the 8, with Amadou Onana as the 6.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a009.04 EDT<\/p>\n Teams in brief: Man United<\/p>\n Michael Carrick makes two changes, which may be a record for his current stint. Benjamin Sesko reverts to the bench as Amad comes back in, so it looks as if Bryan Mbeumo will start down the middle, as he did for Carrick\u2019s first few games. In defence, Diogo Dalot returns at right-back in place of Noussair Mazraoui.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a009.04 EDT<\/p>\n Preamble<\/p>\n