Manchester United vs Aston Villa 02/12/19

2 December 2019

Manchester United will try to post second successive Premier League (PL) home triumph for the first time this season when they lock horns with Aston Villa at Old Trafford this weekend.

The hosts sit nine points adrift of fourth-placed Chelsea and have no margin for error here if they want to return in contention for the top-four finish. Unbeaten in their last four PL home outings (W2, D2), the Red Devils are odds-on favorites here, especially after winning all six of their previous top-flight H2Hs with Aston Villa at home. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men have proved to be a tough nut to crack at home this season, with only Leicester shipping fewer home goals than United (5) so far. But, for United, goals have been at a premium recently, as they’ve netted one goal or less in four straight PL home games before beating Brighton 3-1.

Meanwhile, the visitors have overcome a three-game losing PL run with a 2-0 home triumph over Newcastle United, but they are still hovering just four points clear of the relegation zone. Five defeats in six PL road trips so far means the Lions are the worst traveling side in England’s top-flight (W1, L5). Curiously, three of those losses saw Aston Villa concede precisely three second-half goals, with two of them seeing Dean Smith’s side surrender a 1-0 halftime lead. Also, the Villans have lost all four of their previous H2Hs with last season’s top-six teams, conceding at least three goals in all but one of those clashes.