England Premier League
Saturday 15th January 2022
Kick off at 5:30pm GMT
Venue: Villa Park
Match Preview:
Nobody at Aston Villa will be admitting it but revenge will surely be on the clubs mind as they take on Manchester United on Saturday evening. The two teams clashed in the FA Cup 3rd round with United edging Villa out 1-0. However Villa scored an equaliser only for it to be ruled out by VAR, some believe it was a harsh decision. Villa manager Steven Gerrard took it all well refusing to criticise the referees but that could simply be the fact that Gerrard is in a new job. Villa played well away from home and now having the opportunity to play in front of their home fans a lot will be expected of them.
Villa are in 14th place and after a bright start perhaps their form can be called into question as they have lost 3 of their last four games. Two of those games were against Chelsea and Liverpool though and it is clear that Villa at this stage are nowhere near the level of those clubs. However Gerrard would have been quite displeased to have lost against Brentford in the clubs last league game. Villa are 11 points clear of the bottom three and are surely going to be safe this season but all at the club would love to push for a place near the top 10 for this season.
Manchester United got past Aston Villa in the FA Cup without playing well and to be fair the club have rarely done so under new manager Ralf Rangnick. The German has overseen 5 league games and has 1 defeat and 10 points earned from 15. It isn’t the worst record granted but the criticism has come from how the team are playing and the level of passion doesn’t seem like a huge evolution from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
United’s objective has to be 4th place and just this week Cristiano Ronaldo spoke about his desire to finish in the top 3 but that feels like too much to ask this season for the club. While United are 6 points adrift of 4th they do have 2 games in hand over West Ham who currently occupy that position The clubs last away game was a 1-1 draw against Newcastle and even though they came from behind considering how the Magpies have struggled this season that result was seen as poor. However United have gone their last 3 games on the road unbeaten and are unbeaten under Rangnick away from home.
Team News:
Aston Villa: John McGinn is suspended as he has picked up his fifth yellow card. Leon Bailey is still out with a thigh injury. Bertrand Traore and Trezeguet are on international duty. Ashley Young is a major doubt with a toe injury, Marvelous Nakamba is out until March with his knee injury.
Manchester United: Cristiano Ronaldo is being tipped to return for this game after a slight hip injury. Scott McTominay is suspended as he has picked up his fifth yellow card of the season, Luke Shaw is also suspended for the same reason. Eric Bailly is on international duty. Phil Jones and Harry Maguire are expected back for this game after their respective calf and rib injuries. Jadon Sancho will be assessed for his hamstring and Paul Pogba remains out with a thigh injury.
Aston Villa vs Man Utd Head to Head:
Last season Manchester United won this fixture 3-1.
From the last 17 meetings Manchester United have won 14.
It’s been 27 years since Aston Villa beat Manchester United at home in a league game.
The teams played each other just a few days ago in the FA Cup and Manchester United won 1-0.
Aston Villa vs Man Utd Prediction:
Aston Villa have shown a good fighting spirit under Steven Gerrard and the former Liverpool man has come across well in his interviews and press conferences. He realises the limitations of the club he is managing but at the same time wants a huge ambition for the club and wants them to punch above their weight. He has got some good results as manager already. However at the same time it is evident that Villa have been losing to top six sides each time, then again it is quite an ask for Gerrard at this early stage to be pulling off results against these teams.
Make no mistake though Villa be absolutely up for this game and we should see an end to end encounter. The hero for Manchester United in the cup game was Scott McTominay with the goal but he is suspended. It is tempting to think that Villa could get something here because this United side look fragile. Rangnick needs a win but he also needs a performance, how far can this United side dig to get it?
Of course the Red Devils are loaded with quality attacking players and Ronaldo should be back. But perhaps it is the other Portuguese we should be keeping an eye on. Bruno Fernandes has been quiet lately with his goals but he has a good knack of scoring against Villa and has done so in 3 from the last 5 games played between the two so it is worth backing the midfielder to find the back of the net.
Aston Villa vs Man Utd Betting Tips:
Asian handicap (0.0 Manchester United) at 1.79
Anytime goalscorer: Bruno Fernandes at 3.00
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