Head-to-head info
While United is in poor form to begin the campaign, they’ve been dominant against Aston Villa in recent memory. The Red Devils have won four straight matches versus the Lions, losing just twice in their previous nine meetings. Man United completed the double last term, beating Villa 3-2 and 2-1. That should give them some much-needed confidence here.
Aston Villa is no joke
We all saw what Villa was capable of last season, ultimately finishing in fourth place in the Premier League table and booking a spot in the Champions League. It’s been a lot of the same dominance from Unai Emery’s side in 2024-25. They own a 4-1-1 record in England, which puts them in fifth at the moment. The Lions have scored 12 goals but have conceded nine. Their vulnerability at the back is about the only criticism of Villa so far.
Jhoan Duran, who was pursued heavily by Chelsea this past summer, has been the leading man up top. While he’s yet to start a game in the Premier League, Duran is a super sub, scoring four goals. He came on against Bayern on Wednesday and played hero, bagging the winner in the 79th minute in thrilling fashion. Villa is now 2-0-0 in Europe’s most prized competition and truly announced themselves to the continent with a victory over such a powerhouse like Bayern.
Ollie Watkins is also having another impressive season, netting four times and supplying two assists. The Englishman scored in last weekend’ 2-2 draw with Ipswich Town, but it was a disappointing performance from Villa against a newly promoted club. They will be hungry to bounce back here vs United, a side they’ve struggled to beat. Forget history though, the Lions are flourishing and have a great chance at finding three points here. The hosts are a slim +120 favorite at Sports Interaction.
Can Man United figure it out?
Being a Manchester United fan is truly a roller coaster over the last few years. This club cannot find consistency and that’s been very clear in 2024-25. Erik ten Hag’s men are way down in 13th spot with a 2-1-3 record, scoring just five goals while allowing eight. The Red Devils are winless in four games across all competitions, settling for three draws and losing 3-0 on matchday six to Tottenham.
Bruno Fernandes’ red card in the 42nd minute didn’t help their case, but the reality is United was absolutely toothless in the final third once again. To put their struggles in front of goal into perspective, no one has more than one goal this term in the Premier League. Rashford has just one goal to his name in Englanf despite starting five of six matches. There isn’t much going right for this side.
While it was promising to see ten Hag’s squad actually hit the back of the net three times against Porto, it wasn’t enough to find the full points because they were poor defensively. The worst part is that Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund put United two goals to the good by the 20th minute but they unraveled after that. Not an ideal result by any means. On a more positive note, the Red Devils have an opportunity to redeem themselves on Sunday. They sit as an underdog at soccer betting sites.
