Adam Dennehey WAFU manager
Tomorrow evening Manchester United travel to one of their favourite grounds to face Aston Villa in another vital Premier League fixture. United haven’t lost at Villa Park in the League since 1995 when that bunch of kids lost 3-1 to Villa, which resulted in a certain Alan Hansen claiming that United would win nothing that season.
Villa Park has become a second-home for United whose fans have enjoyed many fond trips there down the years from routine wins in the League to cup success in FA Cup semi-finals. However every great record has to come to an end sometime doesn’t it.
United’s defeat to Spurs at Old Trafford should serve as a severe warning to fans that sometimes the unexpected can happen, that the normal can be broken and that sometime, someway and somehow a good run can stop short.
Villa of course are in a transitional period at the moment. After the highs under Martin O’Neil where in all fairness nobody would have begrudged them winning one of the domestic Cups, Villa Park has been through a tough dark period.
Gerrad Houiller and Alex McLeish have come and gone with Paul Lambert now in charge, looking to move the club up the table with a young team backed by a shoe-string budget. This season Villa are not going to be particularly attractive to watch and they look set to finish mid-table. However this doesn’t mean they should be underestimated.
After all Villa have won their last two matches and remain the only away-team to win at the Ethiad since January, when they defeated Roberto Mancini’s side after extra-time in the League Cup this year.
City’s team that night included only three non first-team regulars in their starting XI: Costel Pantillimon, Adbur Razzak and Denis Suarez and Lambert’s side showed lots of character to win given those conditions.
Villa will be motivated to end United’s good run on their turf. Christian Benteke and Gabriel Agbonlahor have started the season well scoring goals and their young players would love nothing more than to shine out there ahead of United’s established stars.
Yes, United will probably stroll to a customary win tomorrow. Their firepower and options off the bench should be more than enough to settle this game. However the longer Villa can stay in the game the more confident they will get and with Brad Guzan being one of the League’s in-form keepers, United only need one bad spell and they could find themselves in trouble tomorrow..
..not that I really think that’ll happen, after all Villa Park + Manchester United = 3 points, well most of the time anyway!
By Adam Dennehey @ADennehey87
We are due a big win and I feel it will come tomorrow, with 2 each for Rooney and RvP in a 4-0 romp.