Aston Villa v Manchester United: Premier League – live!

5 min The game has started as expected, with lots of United possession and the occasional Villa counter-attack.

4 min At the other end, El Ghazi shoots well wide from distance.

3 min Bruno Fernandes’ cute flick finds Greenwood just inside the area, but he misses his kick completely. Douglas Luiz did put hands on Greenwood’s back but it wasn’t enough for a penalty.

3 min A good move from United down the right. Wan-Bissaka and Martial combine to find Greenwood, whose low cross is kicked away by Taylor.

2 min “United’s away strip,” says Michael George. “It’s beige, isn’t it?”

Pretty much, but you try making a press release out of that.

Here come the players. Villa are in claret and blue. United are wearing their away strip. Breaking away from the traditional colours of a United away jersey, the shirt features a fresh savannah-toned aesthetic and intricate patterned design, that takes its inspiration from the many mosaics that adorn the streets of Manchester’s creative district, the Northern Quarter.

Standing out with a new colour palette, the striking new away shirt continues to blur the lines between sport and style, blending both cultures in to a single piece of design, which will of course be seen during our away trips in 2019/20. Influenced by the unique artwork of the Northern Quarter, the city is embedded deep within the design as the base colour is overlaid with a subtle pattern.

Villa have dropped to 19th before kick-off by virtue of Bournemouth’s 0-0 draw with Tottenham. The other early game finished Everton 1-1 Southampton.

Ally Samatta replaces Keinan Davis up front for Villa. United are unchanged for the fourth league game in a row.

Aston Villa (4-2-3-1) Reina; Konsa, Hause, Mings, Taylor; Douglas Luiz, McGinn; El Ghazi, Grealish, Trezeguet; Samatta.
Substitutes: Nyland, Guilbert, El Mohamady, Lansbury, Nakamba, Hourihane, Jota, Vassilev, Davis.

Man Utd (4-2-3-1) de Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw; Pogba, Matic; Greenwood, Fernandes, Rashford; Martial.
Substitutes: Romero, Bailly, Williams, Mata, Pereira, Fred, James, McTominay, Ighalo.

Referee Jon Moss.

Evening. At a different stage of the season, Aston Villa might have seen a visit from an in-form Manchester United as a free hit, with any points an unexpected bonus. But there are no free hits when you’re in the relegation places with five games to go. Villa need at least two wins if they are to have a realistic chance of avoiding relegation, and tonight would be an unimprovable time to get the first one.

Villa have played quite well since lockdown, and were excellent for an hour at Anfield on Saturday. Yet they have only picked up two points from five games in that time, which leaves them four behind Watford and West Ham with tonight’s game in hand. They need a lot more than two points from the next five games. It’s not quite now or never, but it isn’t far off.

Kick off 8.15pm.