Tom Cleverley has managed to take advantage of a disciplinary loophole at Aston Villa.

The Daily Star says the midfielder will miss Saturday's game against Manchester United - a game he couldn't play in anyway.

Cleverley is currently on loan from the Old Trafford club and so is ineligible for the Villa Park clash.

He picked up his fifth booking of the season in the defeat at West Bromwich Albion to trigger an automatic one-match suspension.

Cleverley is unable to play anyway but Football Association laws do not make provision for such anomalies and so he will sit the game out and be available for Villa's Boxing Day game at Swansea.