Manchester United will be hoping to maintain their strong away record when they visit Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon, in a contest that could play a significant role in shaping the Premier League title race.
Although Rúben Amorim’s side have struggled to see out games at Old Trafford in recent weeks, often surrendering leads, their home issues were highlighted again on Monday night as they allowed Bournemouth back into the match three times in a frantic 4-4 draw.
Their form on the road, by contrast, has been far more encouraging. The Reds have not tasted defeat away from home since late September, securing eye-catching victories against Liverpool and Crystal Palace, as well as draws with Nottingham Forest and Tottenham.
Sunday’s trip to Villa Park will be their most demanding test yet. Unai Emery’s side have won nine consecutive Premier League matches and sit just three points behind leaders Arsenal, with Villa likely to view an inconsistent United as another team they can expose on their own ground.
Sutton issues Villa vs United prediction
United have won five of their last six fixtures against Villa, most recently a 2-0 win on the final day of last season, which ruined Emery’s chance of securing Champions League football. However, Sutton has backed the home side to defy the odds and break their dismal record against Amorim’s men.
“Manchester United are still a bit of an oddity but they are entertaining, you’d give them that,” Sutton told BBC Sport. “They have scored eight goals in their past two games.
“United have some sort of hoodoo over Villa, who have only beaten them in one of their past 26 Premier League meetings – Unai Emery’s first game in charge, in November 2022.
“I usually think that sort of history in a fixture holds a lot of weight when it comes to making my predictions. But Villa have already beaten Arsenal this month, so why can’t they beat United? I think they can. Also, for Villa to have won nine games in a row is just unbelievable.”
He concluded, “I am a dreamer in life, as you will all know, and I want Emery to make it 10 wins in a row. Nothing against United, but I am going for another Villa victory,” before giving a 2-0 win prediction for the home side.
United likely to keep new system vs Villa
Against Bournemouth, Amorim deployed a back four. However, it was more of a hybrid that combined elements of his back three and a traditional back four, rather than a normal 4-3-3 formation.
According to The Telegraph, it’s a system that the United boss is expected to persist with across the next few weeks amid key players having departed for the Africa Cup of Nations.
There have been questions about its long-term validity and its ability to keep out goals, given the four conceded against Bournemouth. But there’s hope that once more experienced defenders return, it could improve.
Harry Maguire and Matthijs de Ligt are not fit to play against Villa, and Noussair Mazraoui is away at AFCON. But once the trio can return and Lisandro Martínez is completely fit, the United boss will have many more options to choose from.
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