Take a bow, Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran. You deserve it, after coming up in crunch time, in the midweek Champions League win over global juggernaut Bayern Munich. After seeing his summer dominated by a tedious transfer saga surrounding his club future, he is finally finding his place now in the team.
Manchester United at Aston Villa FYIs
Kickoff: Sun. Oct. 6, 2pm, Villa Park, Birmingham, UK
Team News: Man United Aston Villa
Starting XI Predictions: Man United Aston Villa
Result Probability: Man United 32% Draw 25% Aston Villa 43%
Premier League Position, Form Guide: Man United 13th, 7 pts, LLWDL Aston Villa 5th, 13 pts LWWWD
For Duran, his rumored/supposed/hypothetical exit to West Ham United just never happened, but now he’s settling it.
Unai Emery needs to find the way to have him and Ollie Watkins coexist in the final third at the same time.
That was Duran can rightfully claim a place in the starting XI.
Elsewhere, with injuries in the midfield, the timeless seasoned veteran, Ross Barkley, earns a place in the first team here.
Otherwise, the rest of the lineup is pretty straight-forward.
Starting XI Prediction vs Man United
Emi Martinez; Ezri Konsa, Diego Carlos, Pau Torres, Lucas Digne; Morgan Rogers, Ross Barkley, Youri Tielemans, Jaden Philogene; Jhon Duran, Ollie Watkins
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.