Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has the chance to take his new team into the next round of the EFL Cup as they travel away to face Manchester United.

The Villans head to Old Trafford tonight to play against the Red Devils for the second time in the space of a week, with a place in the fourth round awaiting the victor.

Emery enjoyed a fantastic first game in charge of the club as he masterminded a 3-1 win over Erik ten Hag's men in the Premier League last Sunday, with Jacob Ramsey, Leon Bailey, and Lucas Digne all getting themselves on the scoresheet.

The former Villarreal and Arsenal boss may now want to make some changes to his starting XI in order to give some of the fringe players a chance to impress and one gem he must unleash is Cameron Archer.

He has not started a single first-team match this season, making six appearances off the bench in the Premier League and EFL Cup so far, and Emery must finally hand the youngster an opportunity, forgetting Danny Ings - who has already started eight games in all competitions.

Former Villa boss Steven Gerrard snapped back at a journalist for asking a question about Archer's lack of minutes on the pitch earlier this season, saying:

"He's only done one full session. Is he chomping at the bit? 100 per cent. You're a fan of Cameron, you, aren't ya? Or are you a mate of the family? Something's going on because you've asked me 25 questions this year and I reckon 19 have been on Cam Archer. You're a fan aren't ya?"

Emery now has the chance to give Archer a platform to go and prove that he deserves to be starting more matches by putting in a convincing display against Manchester United tonight.

Journalist Josh Bunting described him as being "clinical" and fellow reporter Ryan Taylor once dubbed him a "goal machine", which shows how much he has caught the eye of people who have been covering his performances. 

The 5 foot 11 striker scored four goals in two EFL Cup starts last season for Villa and plundered six goals and two assists in four outings in the EFL Trophy.

That earned him a January loan move to Preston North End and he scored seven goals, whilst creating three 'big chances' for his teammates, in 18 Championship starts.

These statistics show that the 20-year-old has the potential to be a lethal goalscorer for the Villans if he can sustain his consistency in front of goal over the course of a season.

However, he has not been given an extended run in the team to prove that he is capable of doing that and, therefore, Emery must finally unleash him against United ahead of Ings, who has had chances to impress already, to set him on his way.