Paul Merson has been full of praise for Erik ten Hag as he has previewed Sunday’s Premier League game between Man Utd and Aston Villa.
The Red Devils are in good form at the moment as they are nine games unbeaten across all competitions.
During this stretch results, United have only drawn against Newcastle United and Chelsea.
It has not been plain sailing for Ten Hag, as his side have suffered potentially damaging defeats against Brentford, Brighton and Man City.
But the Red Devils look more like a unit under the Dutchman and he has got a lot of his players back performing near to their best.
Marcus Rashford is one United star who has been in great form this season. The forward could have left the club in the summer with PSG interested.
He opted to stay in the end and he will no doubt be delighted that he decided to stick around.
The Englishman struggled last season after he recovered from shoulder surgery but he has been one of their most dangerous players this term. In doing so, he has grabbed seven goals and three assists in his 16 outings.
Rashford will look to add to his goal tally this weekend when Man Utd travel to Villa Park. This will be Unai Emery’s first game in charge of Aston Villa.
Merson expects United to win 2-0 this weekend and he believes Rashford is a “shoo-in to play up front”, presumably ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo.
“Manchester United are a much better team now, and I’m very impressed with what Erik ten Hag has done so far,” Merson told Sportskeeda.
“They used to lose Premier League games like the one they had against West Ham – now they’re riding their luck and winning them.
“Marcus Rashford is a shoo-in to play up front, and he will be included in the World Cup squad.
“I don’t think Jadon Sancho will go to the World Cup, however, and I’d be quite shocked if they picked him ahead of the likes of Maddison, Grealish, Saka, and Sterling. You can’t afford to have too many wingers in your squad.
“Aston Villa scored four goals past Brentford the other day and went on to lose to Newcastle by the same margin the week after.
“If they lose this game as well, they’re not far away from what they were doing under Steven Gerrard. They have hard games up ahead, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they find themselves in the relegation zone on New Year’s Day.
“Manchester United have now played eight games without a defeat. They’ve played against Chelsea, Tottenham, and Newcastle in the Premier League during this period and they’ve been very good.
“They’re on a roll now and I’d be shocked if they dropped points this weekend.”
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