Prediction: Aston Villa vs Manchester United

3rd December 2011

Aston Villa remained in the top half of the table as they held Swansea City to a goalless draw, but Alex McLeish’s side will have to show some improvement if they are to get something from this game. Manchester United desperately need a morale-boosting win after losing their Caring Cup tie to Crystal Palace, but they will have to work hard for a win at Villa Park.

Considering everything that has happened last season, everybody at Aston Villa were more than happy with a top table finish, but the fans expected that a new Premier League campaign would bring some improvement. The arrival of Alex McLeish did bring some stability to the club and the boss was able to revive several very important players that had been underperforming the previous season, but Villa are still struggling to live up to the expectations. The team are becoming increasingly hard to beat, as witnessed by just three defeats in thirteen games, but with just three victories to their name, Villa are obviously not playing to their potential. The Villans are especially disappointing on the travels, having picked up just five points from seven away games, but their home form has been pretty solid, which gives them reason for optimism before the United game. The good news is that captain Stiliyan Petrov returns to the side after missing the Swansea game, and that means that Alex McLeish can choose from a fully fit squad.

Manchester United were never a team that would hit the ground running in the early stage of the season, but Sir Alex Ferguson rather wanted that to happen midway through the league campaign, and it was great runs of results in the holiday season that usually saw United create a substantial advantage at the top. However, United have hit top form at the very start to the Premiership campaign and while their fans were happy to see the team winning their games week in week out, they probably feared that United would soon encounter a bad streak. I really cannot remember when was the last time when the Red Devils failed to win three straight home games, so setbacks against Benfica, Newcastle and Crystal Palace must have hurt the players’ confidence. Therefore, the Red Devils desperately need a win at Villa Park to kick-start their season, and they are certainly going to fancy their chance against the team that won just one of their last 31 meetings with United. First team regulars are set to return after being rested for the Carling Cup game, but Dimitar Berbatov, Fabio and Rafael are unavailable.

Conclusion

With Aston Villa desperate to end their dismal run against the English giants and United eager to stop the poor run of results, I expect to see a nervy encounter at Vila Park, with both sides likely to adopt a cautious approach. The visitors could struggle to break their opponents with their confidence shattered, so maybe we’ll have to wait until the second period to see some goals.

Verdict: Draw at half-time

Best Odds: 5/4

Bookmaker: Bet365