Aston Villa FC vs Manchester United FC, Premier League 2020-2021, Today Match Prediction

Aston Villa FC vs Manchester United FC Match Prediction & Analysis

Manchester United will be full of confidence right now having reached their first final under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, after four failed attempts, and have a chance to earn their first trophy at the end of the month.

Until then, their main aim is to officially secure 2nd position in the table, staying ahead of chasing clubs such as Leicester and Chelsea. 

It won’t be easy however, due to their postponed fixture with Liverpool last weekend. It has been rearranged for next week, meaning that United face four games within the space of eight days, with Leicester and Liverpool to follow this one. Squad management will be key for Solskjaer.

Aston Villa won their most recent game against Everton, but remain outside of the top half of the table due to Leeds’ strong form. 

They will still be without captain and key player Jack Grealish here, and have a poor record at home against United.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Aston Villa FC Preview

Form Guide (all comps): WLLDW

Reasons to be cheerful:

     Aiming to win back-to-back games for the first time since December

     Only Man City & Chelsea have kept more clean sheets this season

Reasons to be fearful:

     Dreadful record with no home win over United since 1995-96

     Haven’t beaten a top two side since 2014

Aston Villa’s confidence will have improved after winning against Everton last weekend, only their second victory in eight games, but facing Manchester United is likely to prove a more difficult test.

Villa’s home record against United is famously bad – United fans often call it their second home – and haven’t won at Villa Park against the Red Devils in 26 years.

Their record in the Premier League so far in 2021 has matched that awful statistic, with only three sides losing more than Villa since the start of January. Still without Jack Grealish, they will need to find other ways of testing a United team which hasn’t lost away from home in the league for over a year.

Star Man – Ollie Watkins

No player has scored more than Watkin’s seven goals against Big Six teams this season.

Manchester United FC Preview

Form Guide (all comps): WWDWL

Reasons to be cheerful:

     Confidence will be sky-high after reaching Europa League final

     Fantastic record against Aston Villa

Reasons to be fearful:

     In the middle of four games in eight days

     Will have to rotate players to combat fatigue

Manchester United look a formidable side right now, with the machine that is their away record powering forward with each game. 

They lost the game away to Roma a few days ago, but reached the Europa League final for the second time in their history.

In the Premier League, they are unbeaten in 24 games stretching back in excess of a year. Combine that with their fantastic record at Villa Park, and you can see why United are heavy favourites here.

The worry for United will be their awful run of fixtures over the next week or so. With Solskjaer playing virtually his strongest side a few days ago, he will likely make changes here which could decrease their quality.

Star Man – Bruno Fernandes

Has scored in both games he’s played against Villa, both of which turned out to be the winning goal.