BOTH Manchester United and Aston Villa will be bidding to return to winning ways in the Premier League when the pair do battle at Old Trafford on Boxing Day.
After appearing to steady the ship with a 0-0 draw at Liverpool last weekend, the Red Devils were dealt a reality check in their 2-0 defeat at West Ham on Saturday, in a game that brought up one of my bets.
That latest setback means Erik ten Hag's team have now failed to score in each of their last four matches in all competitions, dropping down to eighth place in the Premier League table in the process.
As such, United are in dire need of some festive cheer to lift the gloom which is engulfing the club at present but that could prove hard to come by when Aston Villa come calling.
Unai Emery's side blew the chance to go top of the Premier League table when being held to a 1-1 draw by bottom club Sheffield United on Friday night.
Despite that coupon-busting stalemate with the Blades, Villa are still sitting pretty in third place and they will surely smell blood here and be hoping they can pile more misery on Man United.
Outright Betting
The bookies are finding it hard to separate the teams with Manchester United marginal favourites at 6/4 (PaddyPower) while a point apiece has been priced up at 5/2 (PaddyPower).
Although Aston Villa have pocketed seven points from their last three road games, the visitors arrive at Old Trafford as narrow 8/5 outsiders at PaddyPower.
Betting Angles
Aston Villa will attract plenty of attention at the above-mentioned price but I'm going to instead recommend a Bet Builder by bundling up both Luke Shaw and Douglas Luiz to commit a foul alongside over two match cards at 10/11 (PaddyPower).
United left-back Shaw collected his fourth Premier League card of the season at West Ham on Saturday, on an afternoon where the England international committed no fewer than four fouls.
That means the Red Devils defender is now averaging 1.3 fouls per-game in the top-flight this term and that trend should continue here given the attacking weapons in Aston Villa's armoury.
With an intense midfield battle also anticipated, I'll also back Aston Villa's Douglas Luiz to commit a minimum of one foul during this festive fixture – something the all-action Brazilian has done in 15 of his 17 Premier League appearances this season so far.
To wrap up the Bet Builder, I'll also go with a minimum of three match bookings in what should be a keenly contested Boxing Day battle under the Old Trafford lights.
Both sides are averaging in the region of 2.5 cards per 90 in the top flight this term so I'm more than happy to back the pair to combine for three bookings or more to bring about the aforementioned 10/11 (PaddyPower) play.
On a similar line of reasoning the to the above, I'll also back the aforementioned Douglas Luiz to commit two or more fouls during this tussle at a tasty looking 11/8 at Bet 365
This bet would have paid out in three of the Brazilian's last five top-flight outings and there is plenty of scope for the same selection to bank on Boxing Day at Old Trafford.
This English Premier League match between Manchester United and Aston Villa will be played on Dec 26, 2023 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Manchester United vs Aston Villa prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
