Erik ten Hag admits pitch concern ahead of Manchester United vs Aston Villa fixture

23.07.2022 - 12:43 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk

Erik ten Hag says he will not use the pitch as an excuse when Manchester United face Aston Villa in their fourth pre-season friendly.

Ten Hag has made two changes from the side that defeated Crystal Palace earlier in the week, with Donny van de Beek coming in for the injured Scott McTominay and Luke Shaw starting ahead of summer signing Tyrell Malacia.

Raphael Varane is back in the squad but only on the bench, and there is a tour debut for James Garner, who has been named in a matchday squad for the first time this summer.

FOLLOW THE MATCH: United vs Aston Villa LIVE

United will be hoping for another positive performance ahead of the upcoming Premier League campaign, and Ten Hag hopes to see more of the same from his side in Perth.

"I think it will be stronger opponents than the game before," he told MUTV. "A different system that we have to face, I am really curious how we act, which quality we can deliver on the pitch and mentally, because it is the last game of the trip, there is always a little bit of fatigue. It is about can the players stay focused, can they cooperate and act as a team?

"I think (Villa have) quite good players, good team, set-up is difficult to play against. So I am really curious to how we face them."

There have been plenty of concerns voiced about the worrying state of the pitch ahead of kick-off, and Ten Hag admits the surface could play a factor in the match.

He added: "It is a wonderful stadium. It is a pity the pitch is not that good, because our football also demands a good pitch. But also, when the pitch is still not that good, we still have to deliver. I demand a good performance from our team."

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