Erik ten Hag's tactical experiment could be the answer to Manchester United's biggest problem

As the half-time whistle sounded at Old Trafford on Tuesday night, Manchester United, once again, returned to the dressing room goalless.

For the fifth game in succession, United's players prepared for Erik ten Hag's half-time team talk having fired a first half blank. Already 2-0 down and staring down the barrel of another defeat, United were also in danger of firing a blank for the fifth game in a row.

But despite Aston Villa's lead, certainly on paper, looking commanding, United were by no means dead and buried. Villa were operating with a high defensive line, threatening to leave themselves vulnerable.

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Though United have struggled for goals recently, you could not rule them out of getting back into the contest at the midway point. They had offered enough in forward areas to suggest they could expose Villa's high line.

Back in the starting line-up for the first time since his powder puff performance against Newcastle United on December 2, Marcus Rashford was reinstated to the left-wing, despite Alejandro Garnacho also getting the nod in attack for the ninth Premier League game running. Unlike in the previous eight, though, the Argentine started on the right.

Garnacho has played the bulk of his football for United on the left, even when Rashford, who, by his own admission is better on the left, has also started and been forced to take up residency on the right to accommodate the 19-year-old. When the team news dropped an hour before kick-off on Tuesday night, it looked as though Rashford would be forced to play out of his preferred position again to