Simon Stone
BBC Sport Chief Football News Reporter at Old Trafford

Referee Anthony Taylor made sure he was well away from Manchester United's pre-match huddle, so that's a good start.

Image source, Reuters

Aston Villa have named their oldest starting line-up (29 years and 69 days) for a Premier League game since February 2012 against Manchester City (29 years and 116 days).

Emma Smith
BBC Sport at Selhurst Park

Before the game, the sprinklers were turned on for just one half of the Selhurst Park pitch.

Interestingly, it is the half Crystal Palace are lining up in for the first half. Perhaps they hope any Leeds through balls will just skip through to keeper Walter Benitez.

Benitez better have some good studs to avoid any slips.

Getting under way at Selhurst Park, Old Trafford and the City Ground.

Image source, Reuters

Out come the teams.

Weather update: It's not raining as hard as it was.

Simon Stone
BBC Sport Chief Football News Reporter at Old Trafford

Michael Carrick started his tenure with four excellent wins but, starting with the draw at West Ham last month, Manchester United have struggled for attacking fluency.

Some of that is due to injuries to Patrick Dorgu and Lisandro Martinez, which have robbed United of left-sided balance.

However, their attack has lacked potency.

Benjamin Sesko has scored goals that have masked that but leaving Amad out means United didn't have a direct one-to-one threat.

Carrick will never accept a player has been dropped, he prefers to see it as maximising his squad and will look at the contribution Sesko makes from the bench.

But United need to start games better and Amad's trickery should help with that.

Julien Laurens
ESPN journalist on BBC Radio 5 Live

Image source, Getty Images

I guess we can look at it in the sense that Benjamin Sesko scores a lot of goals coming off the bench.

He also brought his best to this team in the last half hour when the opposition's defence is a bit more tired. Maybe there is a bit of that.

However, with Bryan Mbeumo being the number nine, I can understand that against Arsenal and Man City.

He is such a smart player to run in behind, but in a game like today, I don't think Mbeumo is better than Sesko as a nine. It will be interesting to see.

Manchester United

A young Manchester United fan is holding up a sign at Old Trafford.

'Sorry Mum, But I'm At My First Man Utd Game. Happy Mother's Day'.

Hurricane: Doing a decent job so far with a thin squad. Beyond the first XI, there is not much behind it. Any manager will be hindered by that.

Nedum Onuoha
Former Manchester City defender on BBC Radio 5 Live

I felt comfortable in Leeds, but Forest and West Ham are still managing to get points on the board. They haven't been magnificent, but they have been competitive.

Simon Stone
BBC Sport Chief Football News Reporter at Old Trafford

Image source, Getty Images

Had the summer transfer deadline day worked out differently, Senne Lammens could have been turning out for Aston Villa today and Emi Martinez might have been playing for Manchester United.

United had options on both and Villa were looking at Lammens if Martinez left.

Ruben Amorim wanted Martinez.

In the end, United's hierarchy said no and chose Lammens.

The young Belgian has not been perfect but he has done a more than decent job and is now established as Manchester United's number one.

I wonder how the world would now look at Old Trafford and Villa Park if Amorim had got his way?

Mark Schwarzer
Former Chelsea and Fulham goalkeeper on BBC Radio 5 Live

This is where the pressure starts to mount. Leeds have looked pretty comfortable in large parts of the season, but as you get closer you see the end target. There is a psychological shift in West Ham closing that gap.

Julien Laurens
ESPN journalist on BBC Radio 5 Live

Aston Villa have done so well, and they have different expectations from when they started the season.

Villa are slightly ahead of where I expected them to be. I expected it to be a slow burner for Aston Villa and them making their way into that group of teams [top four] a little later.

The expectations have changed. I don't think it would be a disappointment if they didn't get into the Champions League.

Leeds have been dragged right back into the dogfight to stay in the Premier League after four games without a win.

Daniel Farke's side play some decent stuff and they'll need to reproduce that at Selhurst Park today.

Simon Stone
BBC Sport Chief Football News Reporter at Old Trafford

Aston Villa have a pretty poor record at Old Trafford.

They have won there three times in their last 59 league visits, dating right back to 1954.

It's an incredible statistic - and not that many supporters will be old enough to remember Eric Houghton's team beating Matt Busby's over 70 years ago.

Much more fresh in the memory is the knowledge that even a point at Manchester United on the final day of last season would have been enough to steer Villa into the Champions League.

A controversial disallowed goal and a red card for Emi Martinez combined to ensure it did not happen.

With the winner today going clear in third, Unai Emery will be determined Villa give a better account of themselves.

Aston Villa

Image source, Reuters

A couple of months ago, Aston Villa looked almost nailed on for a top-five finish as they sat at least eight points clear of the other three teams - Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea - despite their underlying numbers being much worse.

They were even portrayed as possible title contenders, but a spate of injuries to key players and drop in form has helped their rivals to make up ground.

Villa arrive at Old Trafford on the back of two straight Premier League defeats, while they have won just one of the past six top-flight games - although they remain well-placed to advance to the quarter-finals of the Europa League.

Les Rouges: Looks like a repeat of what happened with Solskjaer. Came in as interim, had a number of good results, management then decide to make him permanent, results go back to being poor or average. The wheel goes around and around!

BBC Sounds

Busy day ahead? Remember you can take today's 5 Live Premier League commentaries with you on the BBC Sounds app and listen on the go.

• Manchester United v Aston Villa
• Nottingham Forest v Fulham
• Crystal Palace v Leeds United
• Liverpool v Tottenham

Just scroll through the live dial at the top of BBC Sounds and tap the match you want.

Leeds United

Just two wins in 12 league games since Christmas has left Leeds in 15th spot, a mere three points above 18th-placed Nottingham Forest.

Leeds have won one top-flight away game this season which is a worry before their game at Selhurst Park.

Only Burnley and Wolves have shown worse form on the road this season.

"Seven to nine more points are needed to stay in this league," said boss Daniel Farke. "We know in order to do this, there is still work needed, good performances needed. We are focused like always."