And Aston Villa, champions of Europe in 1982, have been relegated from England’s top flight for the first time in 29 years. Here’s an instant reaction from today’s match, but do check back later for Paul Wilson’s full report. Thanks as always for following along with us.

90 min+1: Guzan is forced to save a well struck shot by Memphis.

90 min: There will be three minutes of added time.

89 min: Fosu-Mensah comes on for Mata, United’s final sub of the match.

88 min: Mata sends a ball forward to Martial but he’s ruled offside.

86 min: United suddenly having trouble keeping possession here.

83 min: A Gestede volley off the corner rattles the post! It’s out for another corner but Villa are cooking now.

82 min: A flurry of action in front of the United goal as Gestede nearly has a tap-in for a goal that’s prevented only by Blind’s last-ditch effort. Corner to Villa.

81 min: Rudy Gestede is on for Richardson, Villa’s first sub.

78 min: The United midfielders are content to simply pass it around the perimeter of the final third with Villa’s entrenched formation don’t seem particularly interested in chasing.

76 min: Anthony Martial comes on for the goal-scorer Marcus Rashford.

74 min: Ayew, who wasn’t off for long, is hacked down badly on a counter-attack and Villa will have a free kick from distance. It’s played into the area and headed out by United for a corner.

72 min: A nice run by Ayew into the area but Memphis is with him every step of the way and runs him out. Ayew now walks off with an injury. We’ll see if he can continue.

70 min: Villa now 20 minutes from relegation, looking utterly punchless against a United side who themselves hardly look like world beaters.

66 min: Rooney comes off to a standing ovation for Jesse Lingard, United’s first sub.

64 min: Two United players are down as the referee stops play. Rashford goes down in traffic, while Memphis is hacked down by Richardson, who is shown yellow.

63 min: Daley Blind’s corner is played short to the near post where an unmarked Mata blasts it on goal from short range. Guzan parries it away and screams at his defenders.

59 min: A bit of a rudderless stretch for both sides here as they jockey for possession in the middle third.

55 min: Memphis Depay slaloms past a defender with the ball and sends it into the area with the outside of his foot. A wonderful play but no United players are there to deposit it into the back of the net.

52 min: Prateek Chadha makes an excellent point here about a sequence moments ago where Rashford struggled to stay on his feet while challenged in the area. Had the 18-year-old simply gone down, the referee would have been more likely to point to the spot.

50 min: United win yet another corner, their 10th in 50 minutes, but it’s played short and ultimately back past the halfway line.

48 min: Mata plays an excellent ball through to Rashford, who very nearly makes it a brace for 2-0 but instead sends it just wide of goal.

46 min: And we’re off and running in the second half, United picking up right where they left off: holding the ball in the midfield and probing the Villa defense for an opening.

And now, a meteorological note. Matthew Cobb points out that it was hail, not snow, that made a brief first-half cameo.

45 min+1: Another great pass by Rooney into the area to pick out Mata, who can’t get a shot on goal. How nicely Rooney has thrived in the No10 role today.

45 min: Ayew surges into the area on the counter-attack and uncorks a right-footed shot, but it’s deflected away by a defender. The fourth official calls for one minute of stoppage time.

42 min: It’s been pretty much an embodiment of United’s season so far. They’ve been solid in defense and haven’t showed much in the way of attacking flair, but it’s been enough for a lead that it appears will hold up through the first half.

39 min: A bit of a sluggish stretch for both sides, who haven’t been able to keep sustained possession or generate any meaningful chances since the goal.

35 min: A note from Robin Hazlehurst, via email:

If Liverpool win their euro pot does that mean that whoever finishes fourth doesn’t get into the Champion’s League? Bit upsetting for United fans if they nick that fourth spot off City then lose the CL place to Liverpool I’d imagine.

According to this from Uefa, this would only happen if City also won the Champions League:

Regarding the top three associations (i.e. Spain, Germany and England*): if two clubs from one of these countries win the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League, and neither finish their domestic league in a position that qualifies them for the UEFA Champions League (something distinctly possible in England with Manchester City and Liverpool), the following will happen:

– The club that won the UEFA Champions League will go straight into the group stage

– The UEFA Europa League winners will go into the UEFA Champions League play-offs

– The club that had qualified for a UEFA Champions League play-off spot via their domestic league competition (i.e. finished fourth) will transfer into the UEFA Europa League

28 min: Now Villa will have free a kick from roughly 25m. It’s turned away but falls to Richardson in space. He sends a shot toward the goal but sails just over the crossbar.

24 min: A good chance for Mata here as he surges into the area from the right side but can’t challenge Guzan.

23 min: Midway through the first half and no shots on target so far for either side. And the snow has given way to sun within minutes. Welcome to Manchester.

21 min: And it’s snowing in Manchester.

20 min: A set piece for Villa, a free kick about 30m from the goal. It’s turned away and now United is on the counter-attack, surging down the pitch, and it’s out for another corner.

18 min: Now the first spot of possession for Villa. Alan Hutton runs with the ball up the right side and sends it into the area, where it’s turned away by Blind.

16 min: And United win yet another corner. Fellaini is target again. He’s able to get a head on it but it’s redirected without much pace over the goal.

14 min: Now United, who have really kept sustained possession throughout the first quarter hour, are trying up the left side. Some nice interplay between Rooney and Fellaini, but the final pass is intercepted by a Villa defender.

12 min: United continue to press up the left side. This time it’s Memphis who surges past two defenders before he’s finally forced off the ball, but it’s out for another United corner.

9 min: Blind runs up to take the corner and his effort just misses Fellaini. Instead the ball skids to the far side of goal, where Rooney sprints to recoup it and wins another foul.

6 min: A speculative shot by Ayew sails over the goal. United walking it up slowly, but then a long pass from Daley Blind to Valencia, who sends it into the area where it’s nearly headed on goal but instead is deflected out for a corner.

4 min: Kieran Richardson wins the ball from Valencia in the corner and is fouled shortly after, but United immediately win back possession and are working it up the pitch again, this time up the left flank through Mata and Memphis.

2 min: After the teams traded possession in the early stages United have kept the ball for a minute or so and are looking to build up from the back as Villa have dug in.

1 min: And they’re off! United in traditional home kits attacking from left to right, Villa in yellow shirts and black shorts going from right to left.

The stakes are just as high for United, who can pull within one point of fourth and rivals City with three points today. The Red Devils have kept a league-best 15 clean sheets this season, but they’re 12 points and 20 goals worse than compared to the same stage last year.

Here’s a look at today’s teams.

Manchester United

XI: De Gea, Valencia, Smalling, Blind, Rojo, Schneiderlin, Fellaini, Mata, Rooney, Memphis, Rashford

Subs: Romero, Darmian, Fosi-Mensah, McNair, Young, Lingard, Martial

Aston Villa

XI: Guzan; Hutton, Clark, Lescott, Cissokho, Bacuna, Westwood, Gana, Richardson, Sinclair, Ayew

Subs: Bunn, Richards, Sanchez, Gilm Lyden, Gestede, Grealish

Hello and welcome to Old Trafford, where Aston Villa’s annus horribilis could effectively be put to rest today. They’ll be assured relegation with anything but three points at a ground where they’ve won only once in the last 30 league meetings.

Wayne Rooney is back in the side for the first time since 13 February, when he picked up a knee injury in a 2-1 loss at Sunderland. He’s scored 13 goals against Aston Villa, having fared better against only Newcastle (14) in his career.

Plenty more to come including the team information.

Bryan will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s Paul Doyle’s assessment of United’s position entering the weekend.

Just when you think it is safe to say that Louis van Gaal has strangled and baffled the life out of Manchester United, his team perk up in a way that makes you think he may actually survive at Old Trafford beyond the summer. The win at West Ham was good and United now have a fine opportunity to lift the FA Cup and could still crawl into the top four. Would those results be enough to satisfy United fans in a season in which Van Gaal has had to cope with mass casualties? Probably not, bearing in mind some preposterous decisions by the Dutchman and a style of play that has often been unforgivably boring. And United’s ‘goal for’ column remains damning for Van Gaal, with 39 goals from 32 league games putting them on course for their lowest tally from a campaign since the days when striker Mark Hughes relied on service from Russell Beardsmore and Mike Phelan. So what Van Gaal could really do with now is a home fixture against a side so doggone awful that United could give their goal tally a gigantic boost. Is that you, Aston Villa?