Manchester United started 2022 with a whimper, following a toothless 1-0 defeat against Wolves at Old Trafford.
The loss against Bruno Lage’s side meant that Ralf Rangnick tasted defeat as the club’s interim boss for the first time.
At the halfway stage in the campaign, we find ourselves seventh in the table, four points off Arsenal in fourth place, with a game in hand.
With the Premier League sides starting their FA Cup campaigns at the weekend, the Red Devils don’t return to league action for another 11 days.
Our next top-flight clash sees us face Aston Villa, the side we will face on Monday at home in the FA Cup third round, at Villa Park.
But after receiving yellow cards against Wolves, in our 19th league game of the season, both Luke Shaw and Scott McTominay will be unavailable for the clash against Steven Gerrard’s team.
That’s because the pair picked up their fifth Premier League booking of the season inside the first 19 games of the campaign.
Any player earning five bookings from their side’s first 19 Premier League games will serve a one-match suspension, but bans are not carried over to the FA Cup.
Players who accumulate 10 yellow cards in Premier League matches up to and including the 32nd gameweek will serve a two-match suspension in the league.
Bruno Fernandes missed the 3-1 win against Burnley following his fifth caution of the season against Newcastle. No United player has received any more than five bookings in the Premier League, as of yet.
Alex Telles is likely to be the man to benefit from Shaw’s absence against the Villains for the Premier League clash, whilst the likes of Fred, Nemanja Matic and Donny van de Beek will be looking to capitalise on McTominay, who has started the last 11 Premier League games, being ruled out.
- Wayne Rooney predicts two World Cup teams that will reach final out of three ‘favourites’ for tournament
- Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s vision is coming true as Man United make £38.5m saving
- Roy Keane has now become more ‘open-minded’ to two teams challenging France for 2026 World Cup trophy
- Matheus Cunha: Five things Man Utd fans should watch out for in Brazil star’s first-ever World Cup tournament
- Andre Onana has just received a brutal warning about his current career status
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
