Aston Villa midfielder Ross Barkley has issued a defiant message as he and his teammates prepare to face Manchester United on Sunday.
Confidence boost
Michael Carrick and his players will host Villa, brimming with confidence after their dramatic turnaround against AS Roma on Tuesday.
United appeared to be beyond recovery at 2-0 down within 17 minutes, yet they achieved one of the finest comebacks in Old Trafford’s history during the second half.
Bruno Fernandes initiated the comeback with a penalty, after which Matheus Cunha assumed responsibility, scoring twice in the closing stages to complete the revival. The victory brought to an end United’s winless run of nine games across all competitions.
United are currently languishing in 17th place in the Premier League table, having won just one top-flight game all season.
| Section | Season | Competition | Position | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Pts | Date | Opponent | V | Res | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Premier League summary | 2026/27 | Premier League | 1 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 7 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Last 10 matches | 2026/27 | UEFA Champions League | – | – | – | – | – | – | 03/11/2026 | AS Roma | H | W | 3-2 |
| Last 10 matches | 2026/27 | Premier League | – | – | – | – | – | – | 31/10/2026 | Chelsea | A | L | 0-2 |
| Last 10 matches | 2026/27 | Premier League | – | – | – | – | – | – | 25/10/2026 | Bournemouth | H | L | 0-3 |
| Last 10 matches | 2026/27 | UEFA Champions League | – | – | – | – | – | – | 21/10/2026 | Como | A | L | 1-4 |
| Last 10 matches | 2026/27 | Premier League | – | – | – | – | – | – | 18/10/2026 | Leeds | A | D | 1-1 |
| Last 10 matches | 2026/27 | UEFA Champions League | – | – | – | – | – | – | 13/10/2026 | Atletico Madrid | A | L | 0-2 |
| Last 10 matches | 2026/27 | Premier League | – | – | – | – | – | – | 10/10/2026 | Tottenham | H | D | 1-1 |
| Last 10 matches | 2026/27 | Premier League | – | – | – | – | – | – | 20/09/2026 | Fulham | A | D | 1-1 |
| Last 10 matches | 2026/27 | League Cup | – | – | – | – | – | – | 16/09/2026 | Brighton | H | L | 2-3 |
| Last 10 matches | 2026/27 | Premier League | – | – | – | – | – | – | 13/09/2026 | Manchester City | H | L | 0-1 |
The Red Devils will be eager for significantly better fortunes when they come up against Villa. However, Barkley has insisted that he and his teammates are aiming to spoil the party for United. He made it clear that despite losing to Barcelona, they remain upbeat about their chances of getting a result at the Theatre of Dreams.
Barkley’s message
Barkley said [as quoted by BirminghamLive], “Today we just didn’t have our shooting boots on, and they created some good chances because they’ve got some brilliant players in their squad. But going into United on the weekend, we will put this behind us.”
“Obviously, we will analyse it, but our focus now is to put this behind us and stay positive for the weekend and try and get back to winning ways.”
He added, “Difficult place to go. We respect Man United. They’re going through a difficult period. I’m sure they’ll have motivation to beat us because they’ve gone through a difficult patch.”
“But on our day, we can beat anyone, so we’ll be confident, but just fully respect to them on the day. Hopefully, the game plan goes well, and we come away with the three points.”
“Every team in the Premier League will have ups and downs. How competitive the league is, teams at the bottom of the table can beat teams at the top. They might seem like shocks, but everyone’s intense. Everyone, if they’re at home, they can beat top teams. Sometimes we go through ups and downs.”
“We’ve got a lot of young players and a lot of new players that are adapting to the way we play, so sometimes they’re just getting on board with the manager’s ideas, and sometimes just not performing on a day. So ups and downs, but I’m sure there’ll be plenty more ups and downs.”
United vs. Villa kicks off at 4.30 pm.
Featured image Stu Forster via Getty Images
