Erik ten Hag handed worst nightmare ahead of Aston Villa vs Manchester United

Ajax have been helpful former employers for Erik ten Hag amid his transfer dealings at Manchester United - but another of his old clubs has not been so obliging, albeit not for the want of trying.

Bayern Munich succumbed to debut delight at Villa Park on Wednesday as Aston Villa, playing in the renamed Champions League for the first time, produced one of the shocks of the competition so far. Ten Hag - who worked with Bayern’s second team between 2013 and 2015 - really could have done without that.

No matter how well United fare at the Estadio do Dragao against Porto in the Europa League on Thursday, a daunting trip to Birmingham awaits on Sunday. Villa Park will be bouncing from their midweek result, a repeat of their 1982 European Cup final triumph.

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Anything but a win for United would mean the club will have won just two of their opening seven Premier League fixtures. They are closer to the relegation zone than the top four and another slip-up could see the situation get a lot messier.

What makes the fixture even more intense is the ensuing two-week international break afterwards that will leave United, Ten Hag and - most crucially - the board to stew over what would be a dismal start to the campaign.

For now, the United boss has more immediate fish to fry with Porto to tackle in Portugal. An adverse result there will heap even more pressure on Sunday’s game with United at risk of going into the next international window on a five-game winless streak.

Porto have a score to settle after losing their opening Europa League match to minnows Bodo/Glimt, with another defeat casting gloom over their European campaign. New club president Andre Villas-Boas will be keen to avoid a drab start to his first full season in situ with Porto already behind in the domestic title race.

The trip across the continent will be a tiring one for United, who already have a day less to prepare for Sunday’s fixture than Villa, who have not had to travel. It’s a concoction of situational circumstances that Ten Hag may feel are transpiring against him.

Villa do have several doubts for the weekend clash, though. Jacob Ramsey and Amadou Onana will be assessed after coming off against Bayern while Leon Bailey is also a concern. John McGinn is also likely to be unavailable.

As for United, they will hope Mason Mount recovers from his head clash sustained against Tottenham in time to take part, albeit he is also carrying a further knock. Luke Shaw is not expected to make his return just yet.

Ten Hag will hope no other injury concerns crop up in Portugal this week, with Leny Yoro and Tyrell Malacia not back until November at the earliest. For all of their defensive woes, United have managed to keep four clean sheets in their eight games thus far.

It is those crumbs of comfort Ten Hag will hone into his players before the trip to Villa, who know a win could take them into the top four. Six years ago, the Villans were playing in the Championship under Steve Bruce.

They are now where United want to be under a manager who has unquestionable pedigree in the game. Meanwhile, questions still linger over United’s choice of boss.