Another week, another crisis at Man United. After their defeat to Spurs last Sunday, a chaotic 3-3 draw away to Porto has piled more pressure on manager Erik ten Hag, and now they’ve to go to a buoyant Villa Park on Sunday afternoon for Aston Villa v Man United. Peter Crouch says it’s going to be another painful afternoon for the Red Devils.
It also could be another tough one for our traders after our Super Sub offer on United v Spurs hit them for a hefty £1.6 MILLION quid, Mason Mount replacing Kobbie Mainoo and committing a foul making for lots of pleased punters on that game, while Jhon Duran’s heroics for Villa in midweek against Munich also landed many a Super Sub punt after he replaced Ollie Watkins…
Aston Villa v Man United Betting Tips
Match Odds: Aston Villa
Ollie Watkins to score
Lisandro Martinez to commit + fouls
Alejandro Garnacho to have 1+ shots on target
- A Bet Builder with these selections pays at approximately 10/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD TO YOUR BETSLIP.
WHEN: Sunday, October 6 – 2pm
WHERE: Villa Park, Birmingham
TV: Sky Sports Main Event, Premier League
It just feels like it always gets talked about – that Ten Hag could potentially go – and then United pull out a result when they really, really need it. Do things ever actually get any better for them though?
You could see them going and getting a result this weekend at Villa but do I fancy it? Not really.
There’s a real lack of control with United. We’ve seen it plenty of times before. They went 2-0 up against Porto on Thursday and let it slip back to 2-2 and you just think “here we go again”.
The late equaliser spares their blushes a bit but it’s disappointing that they can’t hold on to leads.
It’s not for the lack of ability, but you can count on one hand the number of players in recent years who’ve joined Man United and improved.
It may not be all his fault because previous managers haven’t done well either, but the buck will ultimately stop with him.
And I was Chelsea’s game this week and you look at Enzo Maresca and think about how that’s a really, really difficult job, lots of people have failed there, they’re buying in all these players and no one seems to know what’s the plan – but then you can see improvements in how they’re playing. They might not be winning the league, but at least you can see some progress.
With United, you don’t.
Villa must be full of confidence ahead of this game too. They’ve beaten Bayern Munich in midweek, and other than the Ipswich draw last weekend they’ve been playing really well.
It might be a bit tough to come back down to earth after Wednesday night but winning those big matches can give you that little bit more energy when you need it too. I always felt more tired when we were losing games.
They’ve also got decent strength in depth now too to cope with the extra games and in Unai Emery they have a manager used to European football.
If you said a few years ago that Villa would be beating Munich in the Champions League people would’ve thought you were crazy. He’s done an amazing job. They’ve bought well, and players they bring in improve the team – they look like polar opposites to Man United really.
Match Odds: Aston Villa
And I think that’ll be shown on Sunday.
It’s probably better for United to have an away game this week after the way they were beaten by Tottenham. If they were to get pumped again at Old Trafford after what the fans saw last week there could be some unrest.
And Villa should compound that misery. You look at how poor the Spurs game was and think they’ll bounce back against Porto, and in the first-half it looked like they were, but then it all unravels again.
So Villa should have too much for United. The visitors will probably score but Villa should win still.
Ollie Watkins to score
Look at Jhon Duran – he’s on fire at moment and must be pushing to start if there’s any way you can fit him and Ollie Watkins in the team.
I went through a spell towards the end of my career of coming off the bench and scoring – it’s quite good in some ways, I’m not having to over-exert myself and everyone tells me how well I’ve done after the rest of the lads have done the hard work!
Duran is a young player though and will want to start games soon if he keeps scoring.
Still, Ollie Watkins is the man for Villa. You can’t underestimate what he’s done just because Duran’s scoring so many and I’ll back Watkins to score again on Sunday.
Lisandro Martinez to commit + fouls
There’s quite a few options I like for a foul here but I will go for Lisandro Martinez, who will have his hands full with Watkins and possibly Duran off the bench up against him.
Alejandro Garnacho to have 1+ shots on target
There were some strange decisions in the Porto game – taking Marcus Rashford off at half-time for one. You can’t really understand something like that. When you’re playing well and scoring goals, you want to play. It feels like he’s getting back to form and then you take him out of the team. It’s very stop-start.`
That makes it hard to know how the manager will line-up against Aston Villa. Alejandro Garnacho did look lively when he came on and I think he’s probably United’s best option for a shot on target at least.
* All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
Peter Crouch’s Aston Villa v Man United Bet Builder
Match Odds: Aston Villa
Ollie Watkins to score
Lisandro Martinez to commit + fouls
Alejandro Garnacho to have 1+ shots on target
- A Bet Builder with these selections pays at approximately 10/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD TO YOUR BETSLIP.
Want More football tips this weekend?
- Aston Villa v Man United tips: Andy Robson’s got an 11/1 Bet Builder for Sunday’s early game
- Chelsea v Nottingham Forest Tips: Palmer on Target in Sunday’s 15/1 Bet Builder
- Everton v Newcastle tips: Joe Cole’s got a belting Bet Builder for Saturday evening
- Premier League Predictions: Lawro sees Chelsea loss, Man Utd draw and Everton win
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