Man Utd vs Aston Villa Preview and Betting Tip
Man Utd vs Aston Villa Preview
The biggest tie in the FA Cup this weekend is Man Utd vs Aston Villa at Old Trafford. It kicks off at 19.55 on Monday night and it should be a cracking match. The hosts are in turmoil right now but the bookies still make them the 4/5 favourites. The Villains are in poor form themselves and they can be backed at 41/10 on the machine. If you think it’ll go to extra time, the draw can be backed at 3/1. Can Rangnick halt Utd’s slide? Or will Gerrard silence the Old Trafford boo boys? Find out in our big match preview below.
Man Utd
Where do you start with Man Utd? It is just six games into Ralf Rangnick’s reign and it has all gone Pete Tong already. There was rumours of unrest before the Wolves game and after their dreadful 1-0 defeat, the floodgates have opened. There has been a steady flow of leaks coming from the dressing room this week. The players are allegedly unhappy with their training hours as they have to drive home in the dark. They don’t like the new tactics or formation, there are cliques in the dressing room and upwards of 11 players want to leave.
That Wolves reversal was The Red Devils’ first loss under Rangnick but it was coming. Apart from an encouraging half an hour against Palace, Utd have been awful. They were lucky to win that match 1-0 and they got out of jail against Norwich too. Then followed an undeserved 1-1 draw against Newcastle and a flattering 3-1 win vs Burnley. Utd have been poor when out of possession and even worse when they have had the ball and the fact that Phil Jones was the standout performer vs Wolves says it all.
So where do they go from here? It looks like there is a toxic atmosphere in the dressing room and the players are not pulling together on the pitch. Maybe a win or two will help matters but the way they are playing, that doesn’t look likely. Until they show signs of turning things around, it is impossible to back this team with any confidence.
Aston Villa
The honeymoon is over for Steven Gerrard at Aston Villa. After a bright enough start reality has bitten and The Villains have lost three of their last four games. To be fair, two of those defeats came against Liverpool and Chelsea but in their last outing, they came unstuck at Brentford, losing 2-1. They are 13th in the Premier League now with no threat of relegation so they’ll be hoping for a decent Cup run to lift the gloom and it is their only chance of silverware.
The arrival of Coutinho should boost morale in the Villa dressing room. The former Liverpool man has signed on loan for the rest of the season but this match may come a bit too soon for him. Watkins and Mings missed the Brentford defeat and they are back in contention, as is combative Scottish midfielder John McGinn. Given Utd’s struggles in the engine room, McGinn and Douglas Luiz could be hugely influential on Monday night.
The biggest issue for Villa under Gerrard has been their inability to keep clean sheets. They have had just two in eight games and one of those came against Norwich. On the upside, they have managed to score in seven of those eight matches so they will be confident of getting on the scoresheet at Old Trafford. If they are going to progress to the next round, their defence needs to stand up and be counted.
Man Utd vs Aston Villa Possible Lineups
Man Utd: Henderson, Dalot, Lindelof, Varane, Telles, Fred, McTominay, Bruno, Rashford, Cavani, Ronaldo.
Aston Villa: Martinez, Targett, Mings, Konsa, Cash, Luiz, McGinn, Ramsey, Buendia, Ings, Watkins.
Man Utd vs Aston Villa Betting Tip
With everything that is going on behind the scenes at Old Trafford, backing Aston Villa is a no brainer at the current odds. Under Solskjaer, the big issue for Utd was that they couldn’t control matches but they were always extremely dangerous on the counter. Now that Ronaldo is leading the line there is no longer a threat in behind so not only are they failing to control games, now they have lost all potency in attack.
With the quality of the players in the Utd squad, there is always a chance that they might be in the mood to put on a show. However, with so many negative stories emanating from the dressing room on a near daily basis, that is not a likely scenario. Gerrard is sure to have his troops well motivated for this fixture and at odds of 41/10, Aston Villa are worth backing for the win.
