Exclusive: Mason Mount back for Aston Villa game

Michael Carrick’s Manchester United, after watching teams play in the FA Cup and the Champions League, are back in action on Sunday.

In what feels like has been an age, the Red Devils will be back on the pitch against Aston Villa at Old Trafford as their pursuit of finishing inside the top four continues.

As things stand, Carrick’s men are third – level of points with Villa – and are mathematically in the driving seat to finish behind Manchester City and Arsenal.

The meeting with Unai Emery’s men is, as a result, being billed as a six-pointer given its magnitude: with a victory, United can go three points clear of the Villans.

It won’t be so straight forward, though, given Manchester United will be looking to bounce back to winning ways after their recent defeat to Newcastle United.

It was the first real blemish in Carrick’s second stint in the Old Trafford dugout given that he was strictly unbeaten up until that point.

And he will be boosted by the return of a key squad member as CentreDevils can exclusively reveal that Mason Mount is set to return to the squad tomorrow.

The English midfielder, who has recently signed a deal with Mizuno Football, has trained with the squad in the last few days and is set to be named in the squad.

A start against Villa, of course, is very unlikely given that he last played in mid-January.

That was a one-minute cameo in United’s 2-0 win over Manchester City. He scored a third but it was soon disallowed.

He spent the entire 3-2 win over Arsenal on the bench and fans were surprised to see him out of the squad for the following encounter against Fulham, which finished 3-2.

Carrick later revealed that he’d picked up an injury in training.

The summer additions of Matheus Cunha, Benjamin Sesko and Bryan Mbeumo – all of whom were signed under Ruben Amorim – have paid dividends but Mount could play a key role.

Energetic and unpredictable when playing in the No.10 role or on either flank, the 27-year-old may not the first name on the team sheet but he’s a decent option in terms of rotation.

There are not many matches remaining in United’s 2025/26 season, which could prevent Mount from getting many minutes under his belt, but his return is timely.

Last week, CentreDevils exclusively revealed that Mason Mount had been at Carrington to carry out gym work ahead of a potential return.

Now, he’s set to be back on the pitch in due course, first by being included in the squad to face Villa.