Michael Carrick has admitted his surprise at Morgan Rogers' rise at Aston Villa as the Manchester United boss prepares to reunite with the midfielder at Old Trafford. 

Carrick played a crucial role in Rogers' development during their time together at Middlesbrough, before he completed a reported £15m transfer to Villa in February 2024. 

The 23-year-old has since become a crucial figure under Unai Emery at Villa Park, registering 27 goals and 21 assists in 111 appearances in all competitions for the club. 

Rogers was named Villa's player of the year in 2024-25 and has also won 12 caps for England, with the midfielder seemingly set for a spot in the Three Lions' World Cup squad.

And Carrick said the heights Rogers had reached in a short amount of time had surprised him somewhat, but he was pleased to see him shine on the grandest of stages. 

"It is fantastic for him to see Morgan going on to do so well and for a good period of time," Carrick told reporters.

"He had the initial signing in January, and I wasn't really sure how it was going to go. It was a big step for him.

"He hadn't played for an awful long time at Middlesbrough, so I felt he could have done with a little bit more.

"But as soon as he went to Aston Villa, he took huge steps and became a major, major part of their team and part of the England team, so that is how well he has done."

And Rogers will be hoping for a similar impact to the one he had in the reverse fixture, with his second-half brace sealing a 2-1 win over Ruben Amorim's United in December. 

But Villa come up against a rejuvenated United side, who suffered their first defeat under Carrick last time out as they went down 2-1 to 10-man Newcastle United. 

Villa boss Emery acknowledged the enormity of the fixture, with the two teams level on points in the Premier League, with United in third with a superior goal difference. 

"We are going to face Manchester United on Sunday, and they are now feeling confident," Emery said.

"They're strong at home, they play good football and they have very good players. It's a really huge challenge on Sunday,

"But analysing how we are in the table overall, we are fourth with the same points as Manchester United with 51, and they are third.

"Sunday is day 30 and there are still points to play for, a lot of points to play for.

"There are still matches to play, and we are so, so motivated in the two competitions we are fighting in."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Manchester United – Bruno Fernandes

Bruno Fernandes' goals and assists have been worth 23 points for United this season, and he will be keen to have a similar impact again at Old Trafford. 

In Premier League history, only three players' goal involvements have been worth more to the Red Devils in a campaign – Robin van Persie in 2012-13 (38), Eric Cantona in 1993-94 (26) and Cristiano Ronaldo in 2007-08 (25).

Aston Villa – Morgan Rogers

Should Villa want to get something out of this game, they will need Rogers to be back amongst the action in the final third, having failed to register a goal involvement in his last four league games for the club. 

Of the 150 players to have had 1000+ touches in the Premier League this season (coming into this weekend's games), Rogers has had the highest percentage of them come while under pressure (83.7% - 1190/1422).

MATCH PREDICTION: MANCHESTER UNITED WIN

United have lost just two of their last 37 home league games against Villa (W28 D7), going down 1-0 both times in December 2009 and September 2021.

The Red Devils have also kept 30 clean sheets against Villa in the Premier League – only Arsenal have kept more against a single opponent in the competition (31 against Newcastle United).

And the hosts are in fine form heading into their clash with Emery's men. Having lost three of their first six top-flight games this season (W2 D1), United have since lost just three of their last 23 (W13 D7). 

Villa, meanwhile, are looking to complete the league double over United for the first time since 1954-55 following their 2-1 win in the reverse fixture back in December. 

However, the Villans have won just three of their last 11 Premier League games (D3 L5). Since the first game in this run (1-4 defeat to Arsenal on Dec 30th), only four sides have accrued fewer points than Villa (12) in the competition.

But they have not been helped by injuries. In six league games this season in which none of Boubacar Kamara, John McGinn or Youri Tielemans have started for Villa, Emery's side have won just once (D2 L3), averaging 0.8 points-per-game. 

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Manchester United – 46.3%

Draw – 26.6%

Aston Villa – 27.1%