Paul Merson expects Manchester United to beat Aston Villa today.
The Sky Sports pundit is tipping the Reds to make it back-to-back wins in the Premier League, which could see United stretch their unbeaten run to 10 matches across all competitions.
Manchester United are hoping to build momentum to challenge for a place in the top four when they travel to Villa Park to take on a side now managed by Unai Emery following his appointment.
Erik ten Hag’s side were 1-0 winners against Real Sociedad in the Europa League during the week, but sadly it wasn’t enough for United to top Group E. Last time out in the Premier League, we made hard work of a 1-0 victory over West Ham.
On the other hand, Villa have lost three of their last four matches in the league, and they suffered a heavy 4-0 defeat at the hands of in-form Newcastle United last weekend.
Former Arsenal midfielder Merson feels United will have too much for Emery’s side and he is backing a 2-0 win for Ten Hag. He told Sportskeeda: “Manchester United are a much better team now, and I’m very impressed with what Erik ten Hag has done so far. They used to lose Premier League games like the one they had against West Ham – now they’re riding their luck and winning them.
“Marcus Rashford is a shoo-in to play up front, and he will be included in the World Cup squad. I don’t think Jadon Sancho will go to the World Cup, however, and I’d be quite shocked if they picked him ahead of the likes of Maddison, Grealish, Saka, and Sterling. You can’t afford to have too many wingers in your squad.
“Aston Villa scored four goals past Brentford the other day and went on to lose to Newcastle by the same margin the week after.
“If they lose this game as well, they’re not far away from what they were doing under Steven Gerrard. They have hard games up ahead, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they find themselves in the relegation zone on New Year’s Day.
“Manchester United have now played eight games without a defeat. They’ve played against Chelsea, Tottenham, and Newcastle in the Premier League during this period and they’ve been very good. They’re on a roll now and I’d be shocked if they dropped points this weekend.”
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