How Manchester United should line up vs Aston Villa

chaotic 3-2 league win over Graham Potter's side in the Premier League.Solskjaer admitted United were still finding their match fitness after a poor performance albeit in a victory on Saturday lunchtime.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is keen to begin the new campaign on the front foot but knows he faces a tricky challenge against a Palace side that beat Southampton last weekend.United have lost only one of their 22 Premier League games against Crystal Palace (W17 D4).

straight to your inboxPaul Pogba will be available for Manchester United’s Premier League opener against Crystal Palace on Saturday.Pogba, 27, has recovered from the coronavirus and took part in training last week but did not travel with the squad for the pre-season friendly against Aston Villa.The Frenchman has been involved in outdoor sessions at the club’s training ground this week and has now been deemed fit to face Palace.Elsewhere, new signing Donny van de Beek is expected to make his

straight to your inboxManchester United fans have laughed off suggestions from Liverpool supporters that their new signing Thiago Alcantara is a better piece of business than the Reds re-signing Paul Pogba from Juventus.Thiago has dominated the headlines since the transfer window opened after signalling his intention to leave Bayern Munich with just one year remaining on his current contract.

straight to your inboxHere are the Manchester United evening headlines for Thursday, September 17.Paul Pogba remains a doubt for United’s first match of the Premier League season against Crystal Palace on Saturday.The Frenchman is back in training after recovering from coronavirus but missed last weekend’s pre-season friendly with Aston Villa.Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confirmed that Pogba faces a race to be fit for the opening game of United’s campaign.Axel Tuanzebe, meanwhile, has been

straight to your inboxIt was in that other ramshackle pre-season of 2018 that Luke Shaw was fat-shamed and subjected to online bullying yet began the campaign better than any of his teammates.On Friday, the United Twitter account published a picture of Shaw in training looking lithe. For those who watched the rerun of Saturday's friendly at Aston Villa, Shaw was an energetic presence down the left and many of United's best openings stemmed from his side.

straight to your inboxYoung Manchester United defender Teden Mengi appears to have been given a new squad number of 43 for the upcoming season.With a week to go until United get their Premier League campaign underway against Crystal Palace at Old Trafford, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side stepped up their pre-season preparations with a friendly against Aston Villa on Saturday.United, with a team lacking many of its stars who have only just returned from international duty, slipped to a 1-0 defeat at

pre-season friendly defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday.Henderson was one of the Premier League's best goalkeepers last season and has committed himself to United after shining with the Blades. He has given Ole Gunnar Solskjaer a decision to make over his No.1 keeper, with David de Gea the current incumbent.

1-0 pre-season defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday afternoon, dominating the first half but falling behind to an Ollie Watkins goal.And although players like Shaw, Daniel James and Donny van de Beek impressed, the United left-back admitted it has been a strange pre-season so far.

Donny van de Beek after his first appearance for the club against Aston Villa on Saturday and they particularly loved a piece of skill he did in the first-half.Less than a month after the previous season finally came to an end with a defeat to Sevilla in the Europa League semi-final, United are now preparing for the start of the 2020/21 campaign.Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took his side to Villa Park on Saturday for their only pre-season friendly of the summer - though he was without many of his

straight to your inboxHere are your Manchester United morning headlines for Sunday, 13 September.

straight to your inboxOle Gunnar Solskjaer told Manchester United players they needed to be more clinical after a dominant first-half against Aston Villa.United trailed 1-0 at half-time and ended up losing their only pre-season friendly at Villa Park after squandering several presentable chances either side of Ollie Watkins' 16th-minute winner.Villa goalkeeper Jed Steer denied Jesse Lingard on two separate occasions and Harry Maguire, Odion Ighalo and Daniel James miscued efforts in a madcap

straight to your inboxOle Gunnar Solskjaer lauded the performances of Dean Henderson and Teden Mengi after Manchester United's friendly defeat to Aston Villa.Henderson made his first appearance for the United senior side nine years after joining the club's academy in the absence of David de Gea at Villa Park and Mengi replaced Odion Ighalo in the second-half.Solskjaer compared Mengi, 18, to Matthijs de Ligt earlier this week and the Mancunian could get more first-team exposure following his

straight to your inboxDean HendersonHad little to do with his hands but showcased his underrated distribution with his first pass to Diogo Dalot. 6Diogo DalotGot caught out for Villa's second-best chance when Jack Grealish got the run on him and was rarely seen in attack.

straight to your inboxOle Gunnar Solskjaer says Donny van de Beek was the 'biggest plus' in Manchester United's friendly defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday.Van de Beek played the full 90 minutes in the 1-0 loss at Villa Park on his first appearance since signing from Ajax for €39million this summer.United were without midfielders Paul Pogba, Bruno Fernandes, Fred and Nemanja Matic so Van de Beek started alongside Scott McTominay, substituted at half-time for Ethan Galbraith, in an axis behind

straight to your inboxManchester United appear to have confirmed goalkeeper Dean Henderson will wear the No.26 in his first full season as a first-team squad member.Henderson returned to United's Carrington training complex in August to begin training ahead of the new campaign having spent the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons on loan at Sheffield United.Henderson started for United in their pre-season friendly against Aston Villa on Sunday and a graphic displayed by United's in-house TV channel had

straight to your inboxManchester United were without a host of players for their only pre-season friendly at Aston Villa today.A leaked team surfaced online after the game kicked off at 2pm and was widely reported as fact by certain outlets but was actually inaccurate.Donny van de Beek made his first United outing and Dean Henderson came in for his maiden appearance for the United first-team in the absence of David de Gea, who was not even on the bench.Diogo Dalot returned to the first-team XI

straight to your inboxDimitar Berbtaov believes Donny van de Beek should take up a deep-lying role in the Manchester United midfield.United signed Van de Beek for €39million rising to €44m from Ajax and he is expected to make his first appearance in today's pre-season friendly with Aston Villa.However, the 23-year-old will not play alongside Paul Pogba, still striving for match fitness after recovering from coronavirus, and Bruno Fernandes has not been at United's Carrington training complex