Manchester United had a poor weekend with a defeat to Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford which has put manager Erik Ten Hag under pressure.
United lost 3-0 to Spurs after goals from Brennan Johnson, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke sealed their fate in front of a disappointed Old Trafford crowd.
Following the game, there has been much speculation over the future of Erik Ten Hag; he is the bookies’ favourite to be the first Premier League manager to be sacked.
United higher-ups have said that they remain to back Ten Hag, but former Manchester United forward Dwight Yorke believes that the Red Devils’ next two games are crucial.
They face Porto in the Europa League on Thursday 3 September and Aston Villa on Sunday 6 October before the second international break of the season.
Yorke told Prime Casino: “I think it’s at that stage where ten Hag cannot afford to lose. This is enormous. I think this could make or break him at United to be honest.
“It was hard to watch, hard to take. You know you’re going to win and lose in football – and not every often would we lose at Old Trafford – but the problem is the manner of the defeat. Three goals against Liverpool, three against Bournemouth at home, and now three against Spurs.”
Yorke highlights Aston Villa fixture as Ten Hag’s make-or-break
The former United star said that despite the team having a match against Porto in midweek, Sunday’s trip to Villa Park is where Erik Ten Hag will be judged.
He said: “The record shows that United always get the better of Villa at Villa Park, but I think the shoe is now on the other foot. I think that Villa will be very, very confident. This could be the deciding factor for Erik ten Hag, too.
“Villa Park is not the easiest place to go and get a result, and I’m not sure he’ll be looking forward to this. It could end really badly for him this week if he does not get the players back to doing what they should, in terms of digging the club out of the hole they’ve dug for themselves.”
Manchester United have a strong record against Villa
Despite the poor start to the season, United have a reason to be confident against Villa on Sunday as the Red Devils have won the last four meetings between the two sides.
In the last seven games, Aston Villa have won just one against Manchester United which should give Erik Ten Hag some form of comfort. However, Villa have had a superb start to the season having only lost one game in all competitions.
The United boss hopes to continue the good form at Villa Park, but as Dwight Yorke says, it won’t be an easy place to go.
