Tyrone Mings has never shied away from his admiration for the man he will be facing on the weekend, Manchester United skipper Harry Maguire.
Both captains are set to do battle tomorrow lunchtime in the Premier League, with revenge from their respective League Cup defeats on the agenda.
United were dumped out by West Ham United, whilst Villa narrowly lost to Chelsea on penalties.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side are back at Old Trafford after that awful display on Wednesday, hoping to give the home crowd something to celebrate this time around.
Neither Maguire nor Mings featured midweek, the results reflecting their importance to either dressing room.
Maguire vs Mings
The battle of the armband brandishing centre-backs could be an intriguing one, especially now Villa have harnessed the power of the long throw-in.
Maguire can be equally as effective in the penalty area, as proved on countless occasions for club and country.
Mings will know all about this threat, having seen the Red Devils defender’s prowess first hand whilst away on England duty.
He even had to deputise for Maguire in the first game of the European Championships.
“It’s a little bit bizarre bearing in mind how much credit in the bank Harry’s got and what a fantastic defender he is,” said the Villa man about filling in for his centre-half companion.
“But at the same time, there is absolutely competition for places and I think he is somebody that I look up to in terms of a centre-back and somebody that is so consistent with a lot of pressure on his shoulders being captain of Man United and being one of the main players for England.
“He is a person that I take a lot of inspiration from so to be mentioned in the same breath as him is a compliment in itself.”
There will be no love lost for 90 minutes between the pair in just under 24 hours’ time.
Claiming all three points is paramount for United and Maguire knows it.
Not only to banish the memories of the West Ham loss but also to ensure they remain in sight of Chelsea and Liverpool.
A win could take them above the Blues and the Reds into first, depending on how the other fixtures pan out.
Villa, meanwhile, have the opportunity to scale as high as sixth with a victory. Again, this is very much reliant on scores elsewhere.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
