Manchester United vs Aston Villa team news: Anthony Martial dropped as Wayne Rooney returns in five changes
Louis van Gaal rotates his side with Aston Villa fighting for their Premier League future
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Your support makes all the difference.Wayne Rooney returns to make his first Premier League start in over two months for Manchester United after recovering from a knee injury, but the big talking point is Louis van Gaal’s decision to rotate his side and drop Anthony Martial from the starting line-up to face Aston Villa.
Van Gaal makes five changes to the side that beat West Ham in the FA Cup sixth round replay victory over West Ham in midweek, with Martial’s absence the most notable – although the forward is named on the United substitutes’ bench.
He drops out of the attack along with Jesse Lingard, with Rooney and Memphis Depay coming into the side, while Michael Carrick and Ander Herrera start in midfield along with Marouane Fellaini with Morgan Schneiderlin and Juan Mata dropping out through injury.
In defence, Timothy Fosu-Mensah drops to the bench with Antonio Valencia starting at right-back.
Villa know that anything other than a victory over United will see them relegated from the Premier League, regardless of Norwich’s result against Sunderland in the day’s lunchtime kick-off, as they will be 15 points behind the Canaries with a possible 12 left this season.
They make one change as Jordan Lyden drops to the bench with Alan Hutton returning to the starting line-up at right-back after serving a suspension.
Teams
Manchester United: De Gea, Valencia, Smalling, Blind, Rojo, Schneiderlin, Fellaini, Mata, Rooney, Memphis, Rashford.
Subs: Romero, Darmian, Fosi-Mensah, McNair, Young, Lingard, Martial.
Aston Villa: Guzan; Hutton, Clark, Lescott, Cissokho; Bacuna, Westwood, Gana, Richardson; Sinclair; Ayew.
Subs: Bunn, Richards, Sanchez, Gilm Lyden, Gestede, Grealish.
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