Problems mount for depleted Man Utd

Sir Alex Ferguson could be forced to do without more than half of his first-choice line-up for what has become a pivotal Premier League fixture with Aston Villa on Sunday.

Back-to-back defeats by Liverpool and Fulham mean that United have slipped to second place following Liverpool’s last-gasp win at Fulham on Saturday.

The Merseyside club are now two points clear at the top of the league but the current champions have two games in hand.

However, it is clear that the champions’ nerve is set to be tested far more robustly than anyone would have imagined a couple of weeks ago and Ferguson’s preparations for the arrival of Villa have been anything but ideal.

Recent red cards for Nemanja Vidic, Paul Scholes and Wayne Rooney mean all three are suspended while Vidic’s centreback partner, Rio Ferdinand, faces a battle to recover from a groin strain that caused him to depart early from England’s midweek win over Ukraine.

In addition, Dimitar Berbatov is struggling with an ankle injury, midfielder Anderson suffered a knee injury on World Cup duty with Brazil and Carlos Tevez will be coping with a cocktail of jet lag and shock after featuring in Argentina’s 6-1 thrashing in Bolivia on Wednesday.

Like United, Villa have lost momentum of late, taking just one point from their last five matches to concede their place in the top four to Arsenal.

Villa striker Gabriel Agbonlahor had not been born the last time Villa won at Old Trafford, but he sees no reason why that cannot change this weekend.

“Our away form has been good overall this season,” he said. “Too many teams go to Old Trafford and just give up without even trying. But teams like Everton, who went there with a positive attitude, almost got something.”