Aston Villa vs Manchester United Prediction & Betting Tips - Premier League

Prediction published on 06/07/2020, 07:16  by James | Modified on 06/07/2020 at 08:16 in Premier League Predictions

Manchester United (5th) look to extend their impressive unbeaten run when they travel to Villa Park to take on Aston Villa (18th) in the Premier League on Thursday. United are fifth in the table, three points ahead of Wolves. Fifth place will only be enough to earn a Champions League spot if Manchester City's appeal against their European ban fails. For that reason, United will look to climb the table. They are currently two points behind Chelsea in fourth and three behind Leicester in third. Villa are 18th in the table, the final relegation place, one point behind Watford and a further three behind West Ham. They have failed to win their last nine Premier League games but Dean Smith will take solace from the fact that their last victory came at home. Villa have been much stronger at home than they have been away, going unbeaten in half of their 16 matches. While their defence is leaky (Villa have only kept one clean sheet in their last 13 league games), if they were able to score more goals then they would surely have more points on the board. Villa have only scored two goals in their last seven league matches, a record that must improve in order to stay up. United are unbeaten in 16 in games in all competitions, the addition of Bruno Fernandes to the side in January inspiring a tremendous run of form. In recent weeks, they have poured forward with a newfound rhythm, scoring eight goals in their last two matches. If Villa score, the likelihood is that United will score more. However, scoring will be hard for Villa as away from home United have been solid at the back in recent outings, keeping three clean sheets in their last five away games in all competitions. What's more, United don't take long to get out of the blocks as of late, leading at half-time and full-time in six of their last eight matches in all competitions. Villa performed well against Liverpool at the weekend but United are in better form and we see them leading at the break and the final whistle.