Man Utd in FNF clash at ‘second home’ Villa Park against Villans
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It is fair to say that Villa Park is somewhat of a second home for Manchester United, as they have not lost there against Aston Villa in their last 19 Premier League matches, in just under 20 years. The Red Devils, therefore, are odds-on 4/6 favourites for victory with Coral.
Friday night football returns to the English top flight for the first time on live TV since 2003, besides Bank Holidays, when Arsenal saw off Newcastle United 3-2 during their ‘Invincibles’ season.
Expect goals galore in this battle too and, as Man Utd have scored three or more times in six of their last seven meetings with Villain the league, back them at a tempting 27/10 price to do so again.
Basque midfielder Ander Herrera was the hero last time out for Louis van Gaal’s men, as he bagged a brace against Villa at Old Trafford to help them to a 3-1 win. He has seemingly slipped down the order since new arrivals in his position, but is still 7/2 to net anytime.
Captain Wayne Rooney scored the other that day, and he also forced Kyle Walker to get an own goal for Tottenham in United’s opening fixture of the new season. He is 4/1 to net first.
The England skipper is also part of a Coral match special, with terrific odds of 3/1 available for him to score and Man Utd win.
New signing Memphis Depay, meanwhile, will be hoping to fare better after he was subbed off early into his competitive Red Devils debut against Spurs, and the Dutchman is 5/4 to strike anytime.
For Villa (17/4 match chances), they started lift without the likes of last season’s stars Christian Benteke, Fabian Delph and Ron Vlaar with an away 1-0 win against Premier League new boys Bournemouth.
They could be further boosted for this encounter after midfielder Ashley Westwood just signed a five-year deal to stay with the west Midlands outfit.
Tim Sherwood’s summer signing Rudy Gestede was the man to open his account on debut after heading home in the final quarter of the match, and you can back the Benin frontman to score again anytime at 2/1.
The likes of other attackers such as Libor Kozak, Jordan Ayew (both 2/1), Jack Grealish, Scott Sinclair (both 10/3) and Gabriel Agbonlahor (7/2) will also be looking to get on the scoresheet.
Villa did manage to claim a 1-1 draw against United here last term, despite going a man down in the 65th minute, and they are 11/4 to share the spoils once more and 6/1 to do so by the same scoreline.
In terms of team selection, it remains to be seen whether or not Van Gaal will decide to play unsettled keeper David de Gea, while Daley Blind could play in central defence again with Phil Jones still injured and Marcos Rojo lacking match fitness.
Coral’s betting tip – As Man Utd have scored three or more goals against Aston Villa in six of their last seven meetings, back them to do so again @ 27/10
