All you need to know about Aston Villa versus Sheffield United

The Star’s James Shield identifies some of the key players likely to be involved and the trends which could help influence the outcome, as Chris Wilder’s side look to bounce back from last week’s defeat by Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The Possible Teams: Villa - Martinez, Cash, Mings, Konsa, Taylor, Douglas Luiz, McGinn, Jota, Grealish, Watkins, El Ghazi. United - Ramsdale, Basham, Egan, O’Connell, Stevens, Baldock, Berge, Fleck, Norwood, McGoldrick, Sharp.

The Referee: Graham Scott, who was the man in the middle when United controversially had a goal ruled out for offside at Tottenham Hotspur last season, will be overseeing his first match of the season this evening. Mike Dean, who took charge of United’s opening game against Wolves, is the VAR official. Scott averaged 3.04 cautions per game last term but booked four players during that fixture in north London, including Chris Basham and Oliver Norwood.

The Goals Column: Most goals during games involving Villa, who are playing their first league match of the season, came during the final 10 minutes of the match last term. Dean Smith’s side, which narrowly avoided relegation, conceded an average of 1.76 per game but have moved to bolster their defence since. United’s rearguard was breached, on average, 1.02 times per fixture. However, Villa did score more goals than Wilder’s men over the course of the entire campaign (41/39).

The Opposition Dangermen: Ollie Watkins became Villa’s record signing when he completed a move, which could potentially be worth £33m to his former club Brentford, earlier this month. The 24-year-old netted 49 times in 143 appearances for the Londoners, with 25 of those goals coming in the Championship last term. Jack Grealish, the Villa captain, remains the hosts’ talisman however, claiming a total of six assists in the top-flight last season.

The Last Time Out: United travelled to Villa Park for the first match to be played since the Covid-19 pandemic in June. But the contest, which finished goalless, became memorable for the ‘ghost goal’ Wilder’s men scored during the first half. Oliver Norwood’s free-kick was carried into the back of the net by Orjan Nyland but the Hawkeye system failed to spot it had crossed the line and the VAR official, despite a replay of the incident, refused to intervene.

The History Lesson: United are unbeaten in their last four games against Villa but have not won a league fixture at Villa Park since January 1966. However, they did triumph 2-1 there in the FA Cup six years ago, under Wilder’s predecessor Nigel Clough. In total, United have won 40 of the previous meetings between the two clubs, Villa 63 and 33 have ended all square - the last of those being in June.

The Details: Aston Villa versus Sheffield United, kick-off 6pm. The match is being broadcast live on SKY, while up to the minute coverage is available on The Star’s website.

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Chris Holt, Football Editor