Anthony Martial has returned to training, but he is unlikely to be deemed fit enough to play. He could come off the bench, with Ronaldo remaining in the starting lineup.
Jadon Sancho has the flu and may recover in time, while Manchester United are still evaluating Antony’s knock, which has kept him out of the last two games.
Marcus Rashford also did not play against Real Sociedad due to a minor knock.
Meanwhile, Bruno Fernandes is definitely suspended after receiving five yellow cards.
Donny van de Beek started at number 10 against Sociedad but was unimpressive and is unlikely to start again.
When Rashford came on in the second half, he also appeared to be playing in the hole, but it did not appear to be a successful deployment.
There are no obvious alternatives at number 10 other than Van de Beek and possibly Christian Eriksen. And, unless someone like Zidane Iqbal is given a chance, there are no natural alternatives as a deep playmaker if Eriksen is deployed there.
For the Villa game, Ten Hag could go with a 4-3-3 formation, with Rashford, Ronaldo, and one of Sancho, Antony, Anthony Elanga, or Alejandro Garnacho in attack and a midfield three of Casemiro, Christian Eriksen, and Fred behind them.
Garnacho has performed admirably in his Europa League appearances, but Ten Hag may be concerned that the Premier League will be a different kettle of fish. As a result, he may select whichever of Antony or Sancho is available (most likely Sancho), or even the unimpressive Elanga once more.
In defense, it appears that Victor Lindelof’s substitution against Sociedad was tactical, so we expect him to keep his spot alongside Lisandro Martinez at center back. Diogo Dalot and Luke Shaw will almost certainly keep their positions at full back, with David de Gea in goal.
With all that in mind, here is our predicted XI for the game:
