Manchester United vs Aston Villa Prediction - Will United Go For The Third Win In A Row?

Next Saturday, 4th of April 2015, a moralized Manchester United will entertain an Aston Villa in need of points at the emblematic Old Trafford for round 31 of the English Premier League.

After their solid win at Anfield Road two weeks ago, the Red Devils will now try to seal their third win in a row when they measure forces with a “refurbished” Villans’ side over the weekend, but they will certainly need to dig deep in order to achieve that.

Manchester United have been a mixture of inconsistent performances and a somewhat tender stability so far this season. Being just two points behind their neighbours and rivals of Manchester City, the Red Devils have once again renewed their hopes of reaching the second place of the EPL table, thus granting a place in the UEFA Champions League next season.

Louis Van Gaal, who has been heavily criticized over the last few months, has managed to place United among the top three and, although it is not very likely that they will be able to disturb Chelsea and fight for the EPL title, it is fair to say that, judging by how the Red Devils started the current season, no one would have expected that they would be on the third place of the table when there are just eight matches to play before the end of the season.

As for Aston Villa, after Paul Lambert’s bumpy stewardship, the Villans have once again found “safe harbour” under the helm of former Spurs’ manager, Tim Sherwood. The former English international has snatched four wins (two of them on EPL matches) in seven clashes after having been appointed as the team’s new boss back in February, something that is particularly impressive if one considers that Aston Villa have only won seven league matches so far this season.

On the last round of the English Premier League, Sherwood’s new Aston Villa was surprised at home by a Swansea side, that have proven several times this season that they specialise in securing vital wins away from Liberty Stadium. A late goal from the French international Gomis gave the Welsh team the three points and pushed once again Aston Villa to a dangerous zone of the EPL table.

Despite their usual inconsistency, Manchester United are firm favourites to win next Saturday’s match claiming the third win in a row and increasing the pressure over their neighbours and rivals of Manchester City.

Manchester United

Stats: W-4 L-1 D-0

Recent Form - WWLWW

Aston Villa

Stats: W-3 L-2 D-0

Recent Form - LWWWL

Possible Line-ups

Manchester United (4-1-4-1) – De Gea - Valencia - Smalling - Jones - Blind - Carrick - Di Maria - Fellaini - Herrera - Mata - Rooney

Aston Villa (4-4-2) - Guzan - Bacuna - Okore - Clark - Hutton - Sanchez - Delph - Sinclair - N’Zogbia - Benteke - Agbonlahor

Injury List / Suspended Players

Manchester United

Van Persie (inj)

Luke Shaw (inj)

Smalling (inj) (in doubt)

Aston Villa

Tom Cleverley (inj)

Ron Vlaar (inj)

Philippe Senderos (inj)

Joe Cole (inj)

Head-to-head matches:

Top Players:

Manchester United

Wayne Rooney

Juan Mata

David de Gea

Aston Villa

Christian Benteke

Fabian Delph

Scott Sinclair

Predictable Goal Scorers:

Manchester United

1. Wayne Rooney
2. Juan Mata
3. Angel Di Maria

Aston Villa

1. Christian Benteke
2. Gabriel Agbonlahor
3. Andreas Weimann

Half-Time Score

Manchester United 1 Aston Villa 0

Full-Time Score

Manchester United 2 Aston Villa 0