Aston Villa have not beaten Man Utd in their last 25 visits to Old Trafford. During this time Man Utd have won 19 times. Man Utd have won the last 7 in a row against Aston Villa at Old Trafford and they have won 12 of the last 13. These staggering and mind-boggling statistics will dent the Villains' morale even before a ball is kicked today. They can, however, console themselves with the fact that United are rocked by an injury crisis. To make things worse, most injuries are to their defenders, with Rio Ferdinand, Jonny Evans, Fabio Da Silva, Rafael Da Silva, Gary Neville and John O'Shea all definitely out. Wes Brown and Edwin van der Sar are not expected to make the cut as well. Owen Hargreaves and Federico Macheda round up the casualty list. It looks like Nemanja Vidic will be partnered by Michael Carrick in central defence, with Darren Fletcher being forced to cover at right-back, with Patrice Evra on the left. Tomasz Kuszczak should come between the sticks to replace Van der Sar. Impressive 22-year-old central midfielder Darron Gibson is expected to continue in midfield, partnering Anderson, flanked by Luis Antonio Valencia and Ryan Giggs. Wayne Rooney needs to fire today because with a defence comprising of midifelders Carrick and Fletcher, they could concede. For Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill, he only has Wilfred Bouma and Curtis Davies ruled out for sure. Emile Heskey should keep John Carew out. We should see a very familiar Aston Villa side, and you would think O'Neill is going to instruct Ashley Young to run relentlessly at makeshift right-back Fletcher. Come the end of the day, however, Man Utd at Old Trafford are always going to be favourites. I expect another majestic performance from up-and-coming star Darron Gibson, and a couple of goals from Wayne Rooney.
Fate85 Recommends:
Manchester United @ -1 Handicap
Total Goals: Under
Manchester United @ -1 Handicap
Total Goals: Under
