Erik ten Hag told Manchester United star who should be dropped for crunch Aston Villa clash | OneFootball

Red Devils boss surely has to get his team selection right for pivotal Villa Park trip after Porto drama

Under-fire Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has been urged to drop one player in particular for Sunday’s huge trip to Aston Villa.

The Red Devils face a crunch visit to Villa Park in the Premier League this weekend in their final game before the international break that could yet have a huge impact on the manager’s Old Trafford future.

United go to Villa on the back of a hugely disappointing run that has brought wretched 3-0 home losses at the hands of Liverpool and Tottenham, plus a last-gasp defeat at Brighton in addition to lowly draws with both Crystal Palace and FC Twente.

The pressure on Ten Hag has ramped up significantly once again in the aftermath of last weekend’s thrashing by Spurs, with his side heading to Porto on Thursday evening desperate for a win in their second Europa League fixture of the season to give their head coach some much-needed breathing space.

Crucial decisions: Erik ten Hag likely cannot afford to get his next team selection wrong

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However, what transpired in Portugal was a truly chaotic affair, with United - who saw captain Bruno Fernandes sent off for the second match in a row - impressing in the early stages to take a 2-0 lead inside 20 minutes before going in at half-time level and then needing a stoppage-time equaliser from fit-again substitute Harry Maguire to snatch a late 3-3 draw and narrowly avoid another costly defeat.

Such a result has only seen the scrutiny on Ten Hag’s position quickly increase further still ahead of the clash with high-flying Villa, who have lost only one match across all competitions so far this season and will be soaring with confidence after toppling Harry Kane’s Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Tuesday night.

The Dutchman will surely be pondering changes to his underperforming team for that pivotal game in the Midlands, with former United midfielder Owen Hargreaves urging him to bring in Maguire from the start after another below-par outing from £42.9million summer signing Matthijs de Ligt, who was given a torrid time at the Estadio do Dragao by a player Chelsea came very close to signing in the summer in the form of Spain Under-21 striker Samu Omorodion.

"Harry will play at the weekend against Villa. I think he'll have to," Hargreaves said in his role as a pundit on TNT Sports. "De Ligt struggled today, Samu is a super explosive and powerful player, but Ollie Watkins, Jhon Duran... that's not going to get any easier. So he's got some big calls to make."

Former Bayern centre-back De Ligt has been singled out for heavy criticism during United’s recent struggles, including by Jamie Carragher after the abysmal loss to Spurs.

“In every situation there in that first half, two massive chances and the goal, in De Ligt, a player they brought in for huge money, he’s completely out of position all the time so he ends up having to go flying into challenges,” Carragher said.