The Premier League have confirmed who will officiate Manchester United’s upcoming clash against Aston Villa on the final day of the season.
After a dismal performance in the Europa League final, Manchester United are now shifting their focus to the final game of the season — a home meeting with Aston Villa on Premier League matchday 38.
Unai Emery’s side arrive at Old Trafford with a Champions League place still within reach, while United, currently 16th in the table, are left playing solely for pride.
Rúben Amorim’s men could mathematically finish as high as 14th if West Ham fail to beat Ipswich Town and Wolves lose to Brentford, but it’s a small consolation in an otherwise forgettable campaign.
The mood around the club remains flat, with the Europa League loss still fresh and a motivated Villa side posing a serious threat. As things stand, United risk ending a turbulent season with yet another painful defeat on home soil.
Premier League confirm United vs Villa referee
Thomas Bramall (pictured above) will be the referee on Sunday afternoon in Manchester. Bramall has officiated ten Premier League fixtures this season, ten Championship games, and five across other domestic competitions.
Bramall has met United once this season, officiating the club’s 3-0 win over Leicester City in the Premier League away from home. Rasmus Højlund, Bruno Fernandes, and Alejandro Garnacho grabbed those goals on the night.
So far this season, Bramall has issued 33 yellow cards in the Premier League and 78 across all competitions. He has issued two red cards this season via two yellow cards and three straight red cards. He has awarded seven penalties, three of which came in the Premier League.
During the game, Eddie Smart and Akil Howsonwill serve as Bramall’s assistant referees. Anthony Backhouse will be the fourth official on Sunday afternoon, separating Amorim and Emery.
Stuart Attwell has been appointed as the Video Assistant Referee. Natalie Aspinall will act as assistant VAR.
Who is suspended for the fixture on Sunday afternoon?
Amorim will not have to worry about any suspensions as he selects his side on Sunday afternoon, with almost his whole squad being available to choose from.
The only first-team player confirmed to be unavailable for the tie is Lisandro Martínez, while there is little news on the fitness of Matthijs de Ligt after he was not part of the Europa League final squad but was spotted with the team in the stadium.
Read More: Five Manchester United stars ‘set to leave’ this summer in £212.5m exodus, two played in the Europa League final
As for Aston Villa, the only suspension they would have to worry about is Marcus Rashford, who is ineligible to face his parent club after signing on loan from United in January.
Although Rashford has not featured for some weeks due to a hamstring injury, there was news that he would have otherwise possibly been fit for the tie at Old Trafford.
However, as he cannot play due to FA rules barring loan players from facing their parent sides in domestic competition, this would have not affect his potential return from injury.
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