Seven up? United are looking to make it seven wins in a row at Villa Park
"We're in the title race," claimed Louis Van Gaal after Manchester United's demolition of Liverpool on Sunday, and it will take a brave man to disagree with him if they make it a magnificent seven against Aston Villa.
Six wins in a row have surged the Red Devils
into third spot in the Premier League, and they have the advantage of
not playing in Europe as they compete with Manchester City and Chelsea
for top spot.
Wayne Rooney looks back to his best, Robin Van
Persie has re-found his scoring touch and David De Gea looks among the
best shot stoppers in the world. An away victory looks nailed on, but
Villa will have something to say about that.
They are coming off
the back of a derby day defeat to local rivals West Brom, but did go
down to ten men early in the game and picked up two wins in their
previous two outings.
With the midpoint of the season quickly approaching, here are Mirror Football's 11 things you need to know ahead of the Villa Park clash...
1. When is the match?
The game kicks off at 15:00 on Saturday.
Mirror Football will be running a LIVE blog to keep you up to date with proceedings in the West Midlands. In pictures: Manchester United 3-0 Liverpool
Aston Villa: Kieran
Richardson, Alan Hutton and Tom Cleverley will all miss out due to
suspension. Richardson saw red against the Baggies, while Hutton and
Cleverley picked up their fifth yellow cards of the season.
Ashley
Westwood remains sidelined with a knee injury, while Fabian Delph could
be in line to start after making his return in the second half against
West Brom. Manchester United: Marcos Rojo may return to the line-up after missing the Liverpool game through injury.
Laurence Griffiths
Return: Rojo challenges Sergio Aguero in the Manchester derby
United have no fresh concerns after the 3-0 win, but Radamel
Falcao could compete with youngster James Wilson for a starting berth up
front and Angel Di Maria may still be sidelined with his hamstring
problem.
3. Predicted sides
4. Reasons for Villa fans to be optimistic
Despite defeat on Saturday, the Villans haven't conceded more than one goal in a single game since 2 November.
Fabian Delph started the season in good form, and could make his first start since returning from injury.
Despite
their upturn in form, United still look suspect at the back, with David
De Gea the sole reason they preserved their clean sheet against
Liverpool.
5. Reasons for United fans to be optimistic
The Red Devils have won six games in a row and look dangerous every time they surge forward.
Robin Van Persie has four goals in his last four games and looks to be returning to something like his best.
David De Gea is in imperious form, providing a much-needed safety blanket for United's makeshift backline.
15 December 2013: Aston Villa 0-3 Manchester United
22 April 2013: Manchester United 3-0 Aston Villa
10 November 2012: Aston Villa 2-3 Manchester United
15 April 2012: Manchester United 4-0 Aston Villa
7. Recent form
Aston Villa - Last 5 games:
13 December: West Brom 1-0 Aston Villa
7 December: Aston Villa 2-1 Leicester
2 December: Crystal Palace 0-1 Aston Villa
29 November: Burnley 1-1 Aston Villa
24 November: Aston Villa 1-1 Southampton
Manchester United - Last 5 games:
14 December: Manchester United 3-0 Liverpool
8 December: Southampton 1-2 Manchester United
2 December: Manchester United 2-1 Stoke
29 November: Manchester United 3-0 Hull
22 November: Arsenal 1-2 Manchester United
8. Villa's key man
If Villa are to stage a march up the table, they need Belgian powerhouseChristian Benteke to start finding the net on a more regular basis.
Neville Williams
Hitman: Benteke celebrates his goal against Crystal Palace
The striker has just one Premier League goal so far this
term, although a mixture of injury and suspension has restricted him to
just seven appearances.
He bagged the winner against Crystal
Palace earlier in the month, and will surely be licking his lips given
United's defensive inconcistencies.
He showed what he was capable
of when he netted 19 Premier League goals in 2012-13 and will be hoping
to rediscover some of that form if he can manage an extended run of
games.
1-0: Rooney opens the scoring against Liverpool
Since acquiring the armband for both club and country in the summer, Rooney has found his best form for some time.
Despite
regularly playing in a deeper role, he has hit six league goals so far
this term, including three in his last four and the opener against
Liverpool on Sunday.
With Robin Van Persie rediscovering his
scoring touch, and Radamel Falcao yet to spark into life, the trio pose a
frankly terrifying goal-scoring threat.
10. Betting odds
Villa are priced at 9/2 to get the victory with Paddy Power, while United are available at 8/13. The draw is 3/1.
Christian
Benteke is a 7/1 shot to open the scoring, with Wayne Rooney and Robin
Van Persie both 7/2 favourites to find the back of the net first.
11. Did you know?
Villa have beaten United just once in their last 35 attempts.
Villa have only beaten United three times in the Premier League.
United have scored 17 times in the last five meetings between the clubs.
No comments :
Post a Comment