English Premier
2010-11-13 - Aston Villa vs Manchester United
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football : English Premier League
Saturday 13 November 2010 - Kickoff 12:45pm
This game is live on TV
Aston Villa
The pressure of getting some positive results for Gerard Houiller was released a little on Wednesday courtesy of a late James Collins winner against Blackpool here. It was not the best performance we will see all year but 3 points is 3 points and thats what the team needed more than anything.
Villa moved back into the top half of the table courtesy of that win on Wednesday night and sit in 10th place at the moment. However, they find themselves the same number of points from the Champions League places as they are from the relegation zone as we head towards a crucial part of the campaign. Villa are yet to lose at home this season, going 3-3-0 at Villa Park, scoring 8 goals and conceding 3.
The Villians are unbeaten in their last 4 games in all competitions, but Wednesday was the only time in their last 7 games that they had scored more than 1 goal in a game. The team could take some confidence from the fact they have already held Chelsea to a draw here this season.
Injuries are really hurting this team at the moment and Houiller could be without 9 players for this game. The latest to go down is Carlos Cueller, while Habib Beye is also doubtful. Other absentees include Emile Heskey, John Carew, Nigel Reo-Coker, Steven Sidwell and Stylian Petrov. Gabby Agbonlahor is likely to be on the bench again for this game.
Possible Aston Villa Line Up:
Friedal, Luke Young, Warnock, Collins, Dunne, Clark, Bannan, Albrighton, Downing, Ashley Young and Delfouneso (4-5-1)
Manchester United
It was a slightly disappointing Manchester Derby in terms of entertainment, but United will probably feel happy with the point they picked up although a little more craft may have led to the 3 points that night. Sir Alex Ferguson will be hoping his side can at least keep the pressure up on leaders Chelsea who play on Sunday.
United remained in 2nd place in the Premier League after the 0-0 draw on Wednesday and also remained unbeaten. However, there must be a little bit of concern with the 1-5-0 away record they have compiled, scoring 9 goals and conceding 8. The Red Devils are 4 points behind Chelsea and 1 point ahead of Arsenal.
The team extended their unbeaten run to 24 games in all competitions stretching back to last season and it is also the first time in the Premier League that they have been unbeaten in their opening 12 League games. United had won 6 games in a row before the draw at Manchester City. There is some positives from the result in midweek as United now have 4 clean sheets in their last 5 away games, only conceding the 1 goal at Stoke in that time.
United are also missing a number of players for this game, and Rafael was added to that list along with Paul Scholes. Patrice Evra is hopeful to recover in time and Ryan Giggs is another who will face a late fitness test.
Possible Manchester United Line Up:
Van der Sar, Brown, Evra, Vidic, Ferdinand, Fletcher, Carrick, Park, Nani, Hernandez and Berbatov (4-4-2)
Head to Head
United have a tremendous recent record against Aston Villa, losing just 1 of 31 games between the sides.
Villa Park has been a particularly happy hunting ground for the Red Devils, both against Aston Villa and in neutral Cup Semi Finals over the years and is a favourite venue to visit for the fans. United are unbeaten in their last 15 visits to Villa Park to play the hosts, but the last 2 Premier League games here have ended in low scoring draws.
United had won 7 in a row at Villa Park before those 2 draws.
Prediction
Both teams have been suffering from injuries and suspension which makes it hard for the managers to find any consistency in their selections for matches.
Games between the two teams here have been tight in recent history as Villa like playing a counter attacking system that works much better away from home than at Villa Park. United themselves are suffering from injuries to key players and there is a lack of creativity evident in their play at the moment.
Away from home, Sir Alex Ferguson is ensuring his team do not give away goals and I think this could be a low scoring game again as I cannot see Villa attacking without concern and the game could follow a similar pattern to the one played against Chelsea here.
The price for Under 2.5 goals is the same as for a United win, and I think that might be the better value in a tight contest.
The Statistics :
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Pick :
Aston Villa 0-1 Manchester United
