Manchester United vs Aston Villa Betting – Premier League Saturday

Manchester United vs Aston Villa
Saturday, December 12
5.30pm Kick Off

Manchester United will hope that they can close the gap on leaders Chelsea on the weekend, when they host Aston Villa at Old Trafford. In the evening kick-off at OT, the stubborn and resilient Aston Villa will pose some tough opposition to the defending Champions. Manchester United saw the gap between themselves and Carlo Ancelotti’s Blues shrink to just two points. United gained an important 3-1 away victory over Wolfsburg in midweek, with Michael Owen popping up with hat trick. That will no doubt spark speculations of whether Fabio Capello will again be considering him, and while that is unlikely, the United defence will have to come up against some other England hopefuls, in a counter-attacking Aston Villa side.

The Red Devils are not without their injury problems, and are having to patch things up, especially at the back where there have been some key players missing. Gary Neville, John O’Shea, Jonathan Evans, Rio Ferdinand and Wes Brown are all among the walking wounded, as well as goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar. But somehow Manchetser United keep winning, even when players are playing out of position, and even when looking a little light up front. How this happens can only be down to the manager and coaching staff, and the respect which they have built up of their long period of dominance in both the Premier League and in Europe. Since their last defeat in the Premier League to Chelsea, United have hit twelve goals in the past three games. They beat Everton 3-0, trumped Portsmouth 4-1 and then thrashed West Ham 4-0.

Aston Villa, despite having a great season themselves, will still have their hands full at Old Trafford. Aston Villa are on a run of four games unbeaten, with a good 3-0 win over Hull being their recent triumph. Martin O’Neill’s men are sitting in fifth place in the Premier League, and are locked in a close battle with Spurs, Manchester City and Liverpool. A big win at Old Trafford would really stamp home their credentials, but United have dominated the previous meetings between the two teams, as out of the last ten meetings, all that Aston Villa have gotten out of the games  has been a 0-0 draw in November of 2008. This means that Villa would be a good bet taking a handicap advantage into the game. But a look back over the last ten games between the two teams, it is clear to see where the problems lie for Villa. They have consistently struggled to score against Manchester United, be it at home or way.

Last 5 Games Head to Head
Manchester United 3, Aston Villa 2
Aston Villa 0, Manchester United 0
Manchetser United 4, Aston Villa 0
Aston Villa 0, Manchester United 2
Aston Villa 1, Manchester United 4

Goal scoring is the main difference between the two teams away from home. Both have scored 16 home goals, but Villa have only managed to net 9 times away from Villa Park, whereas United have scored exactly double that amount in their away games. Villa though, do look to be in a bit better shape this season, a good balanced team who like to utilise width to stretch teams. Again United, being patched up in defence, may offer a glimmer of hope for Aston Villa that things may be changing, and that they are due a good win against the Manchester side. Certainly Villa provide a good crop of England players, like Gabby Agbonlahor, James Milner, Ashley Young, Stuart Downing and Emile Heskey. On the evidence of the season so far, they still have some way to go to catch up with the big four, but they, along with the other aforementioned teams, are at least trying to make in roads, and will end up in big battle for Champions League places.

Last 10 Games
Manchester United W7, D1, L2
Aston Villa W3, D5, L2

Win Percentage
Manchester United have an 85.7 win% at home this season
Aston Villa have just a 28.6 win% away

Match Prices
Manchetser United to win – 1/2 at BetFred
Draw:10/3 at SkyBet
Aston Villa to win: 7/1 at Ladbrokes

Betting Advice: With Villa’s penchant for drawing games, betting favours could lean towards that outcome. Trouble is, Manchester United do not draw many games, as even going into the latter stages of the game, you will always fancy them to nick a winner from somewhere. United are a tough proposition at home, without a doubt. They are not one of the favourites to take the Premier League for no reason, and that is because they can win even when weakened. They may not be able to put out their strongest first teamers, but still the players that Alex Ferguson puts out, even if it is people playing out of position, they still get the job done. They will be boosted by the return of Wayne Rooney and probably defender Nemanja Vidic on Saturday, and possibly Dimitar Berbatov.
Aston Villa +1 Asian Handicap – 21/20 at Bet365