Manchester United vs Aston Villa Match Analysis and Prediction

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Four days after putting the Red Devils to the sword in the Premier League, Aston Villa will again meet Manchester United at Old Trafford for the EFL Cup third-round match on Thursday.

Unai Emery began his Villa Park reign with a 3-1 victory over Manchester United at the weekend, and the Spaniard knows a thing or two about progressing in knockout competitions.

Leon Bailey, Lucas Digne and Jacob Ramsey all got on the scoresheet at Villa Park, as Erik ten Hag’s side saw their nine-game unbeaten streak across all competitions come to a bitter end.

Manchester United were then drawn against Barcelona in the knockout round playoffs of the Europa League less than 24 hours later, but the Red Devils cannot cast one eye on their continental proceedings while revenge is on the menu against Aston Villa.

Returning to Old Trafford should bring with it a greater sense of defensive resilience for Manchester United, who have kept an impressive five clean sheets in a row at home, as well as winning each of their last three in front of their own supporters in all competitions.

Emery has highlighted his ambitions to win silverware with Aston Villa, so no shreds of complacency should come into play for the Lions at Old Trafford.

Aston Villa aleady have five EFL Cups in their trophy cabinet, the most recent of which came in the 1995-96 campaign, and they reached the final of the 2020 edition before losing to Manchester City but were knocked out in round three by Chelsea last season.

The West Midlands outfit have already beaten Bolton Wanderers 4-1 to progress to the third round, and next on the priority list is to end a five-game winless run away from home, having failed to score in three of their last four away matches.

Manchester United vs Aston Villa head to head

These two teams have previously met on 171 occasions across all competitions, where United have claimed 89 victories while Villa have won 41, and they have drawn in 41. Villa have scored 212 goals and conceded 315. In their last five meetings, Villa have won two, United one with two draws.

Manchester United 0-1 Aston Villa 25/09/21

Manchester United 1-0 Aston Villa 10/01/22

Aston Villa 2-2 Manchester United 15/01/22

Manchester United 2-2 Aston Villa 23/07/22

Aston Villa 3-1 Manchester United 06/11/22

Manchester United latest home form

Manchester United have recently been on a good run of form at home, having been unbeaten in their five most recent matches. They managed to defeat West Ham 1-0 in their last home game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored seven goals and kept clean sheets.

Manchester United 1-0 Omonia Nicosia 13/10/22

Manchester United 0-0 Newcastle United 16/10/22

Manchester United 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur 19/10/22

Manchester United 3-0 Sheriff 27/10/22

Manchester United 1-0 West Ham United 30/10/22

Manchester United latest away form

Manchester United were beaten 3-1 by Aston Villa in their last away game in the league. However, they have recently been on a good run of form on the road, having been unbeaten in their previous four games. In their last five matches, they have scored eight goals and conceded seven.

Omonia Nicosia 2-3 Manchester United 06/10/22

Everton 1-2 Manchester United 09/10/22

Chelsea 1-1 Manchester United 22/10/22

Real Sociedad 0-1 Manchester United 03/11/22

Aston Villa 3-1 Manchester Uniteed 06/11/22

Aston Villa latest home form

Aston Villa have recently been on a relatively good run of form at home, having lost just one of their five most recent matches. They defeated Manchester United 3-1 in their last home game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored nine goals and conceded four.

Aston Villa 1-1 Manchester City 03/09/22

Aston Villa 1-0 Southampton 16/09/22

Aston Villa 0-2 Chelsea 16/10/22

Aston Villa 4-0 Brentford 23/10/22

Aston Villa 3-1 Manchester United 06/11/22

Aston Villa latest away form

Aston Villa have recently failed to keep a good run of form on the road, having been winless in their five most recent matches. They lost 4-0 to Newcastle United in their last away game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored two goals and conceded 10.

Arsenal 2-1 Aston Villa 31/08/22

Leeds United 0-0 Aston Villa 02/10/22

Nottingham Forest 1-1 Aston Villa 10/10/22

Fulham 3-0 Aston Villa 20/10/22

Newcastle United 4-0 Aston Villa 29/10/22

Manchester United news

Bruno Fernandes is back from a Premier League suspension this week, and his fresh legs should be preferred over Donny van de Beek, who was a surprise starter at Villa Park.

Raphael Varane, Brandon Williams and Axel Tuanzebe remain out for the hosts, while Antony and Jadon Sancho will both need assessing later this week.

Aston Villa news

The duo of Jan Bednarek and Leander Dendoncker are unavailable for this game having represented Southampton and Wolverhampton Wanderers respectively in the second round.

With Dendoncker unavailable, Boubacar Kamara is the obvious replacement, and rotation could also benefit Robin Olsen, John McGinn and Danny Ings’ chances of coming into the first XI.

Prediction and Odds

Manchester United’s dominant defensive run at home in addition to the visitors’ frailties on the road should make this a much more competitive affair than Sunday’s

With changes expected on both ends, we would not be surprised to see the sides play out a draw come the end of the 90 minutes.

Odds: 1 2.20 X 2.04 2 2.30