Dean Smith will be wearing Norwich City colours tomorrow, but his heart will be forever covered in claret and blue.
The last time Smith faced Manchester United, he was in charge of his beloved Aston Villa.
Following a string of poor results, the boyhood Villa fan bid farewell to the place he could truly call home.
His wait in the job centre line didn’t last long, however.
Norwich parted ways with Daniel Farke at the start of November after an even more stuttering start to the season.
Smith on show
Smith has already calmed the Canaries’ cage, winning two of his first three games at the helm. A visit from United in little more than 24 hours’ time is the next task to await the 50-year-old.
Ironically, the final match Smith won as Villa manager was against the Red Devils, more than two months ago.
That dreadful day at Old Trafford signalled the beginning of the end for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who has now been replaced by Ralf Rangnick.
Understandably, the Norwich boss will want to draw on a few of the tactics that served him during his previous clash with the Manchester outfit.
On the flip side, Rangnick will have done his homework on the way Villa secured victory at the Theatre of Dreams.
Where United must be wary of Norwich
One aspect the German will be keen to cover is defending set pieces. The Villains’ only goal of that afternoon arrived directly from a corner.
Kortney Hause managed to power a header past David de Gea two minutes from time, his effort ultimately sealing the match for the visitors.
United had already been warned of Villa’s direct threat after Ezri Konsa sent a header over the bar in the first half.
Norwich may not be the tallest team in the division but they will surely trust their luck against United’s wobbly defence.
Conceding goals from corners or free-kicks has been an issue for Rangnick’s squad in the past. Perhaps his German efficiency can rid the wrongs of days gone by?
Canaries looking to cause problems
He may also have to keep an eye on Norwich playing balls down United’s channels.
Villa almost scored from such a method, with Matty Cash’s run-in behind Luke Shaw almost resulting in a goal for Matt Targett, who failed to take advantage.
A long ball into the same area a few moments later had Solskjaer’s troops at sixes-and-sevens. Harry Maguire fed a poor back pass to De Gea, who in turn could only send it straight to Ollie Watkins.
Rangnick must order his men to cut this threat out straight away, which shouldn’t be too difficult with his gegen-press approach.
A Devil silencing a Villain’s master plan? How poetic.
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