Aston Villa vs. Manchester United Prediction, 7/9/20

Hoping to extend their unbeaten run in all competitions to 17 games, 5th-placed Manchester United pay a visit to 18th-placed Aston Villa, who are in desperate need of victories to fend off relegation. Kick-off - at 15:15 PM ET on Thursday, July 9.

Aston Villa Lose At Liverpool

The winless run of Aston Villa extended to nine Premier League fixtures (D2 L7) after the team was edged out with a count of 2-0 by newly-crowned champions Liverpool away at Anfield on Sunday. The Villans gave up 71% of ball possession but somehow managed to outshoot the hosts 9-6, with the Reds netting the opening snipe of the game only in the 71st minute with just their second shot on target. Aston Villa has now failed to keep a clean sheet for 24 road contests since a 0-0 draw with West Bromwich Albion in January 2016. The team sits 18th in the standings with a W7 D6 L20 record, four points below safety, but with a game in hand.

English playmaker Jack Grealish, a summer target for Manchester United, leads the Villans with seven Premier League goals. Norwegian Orjan Nyland, meanwhile, occupies the 27th place in the EPL goalkeeper chart, having stopped 15 shots thus far this season. He has collected one clean sheet in seven outings during the current campaign and allows a goal every 45 minutes of play. Aston Villa has scored the 13th highest amount of strikes this year (36) while delivering the 10th highest quantity of shots per game (12.1). The team is 14th in ball possession (46.4%) and 12th in passing accuracy (77.2%).

United Win Third In Row

Manchester United won three consecutive league outings in a row for the first time since triumphing in all of their first six under manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer between Dec. 2018-Jan. 2019 after snatching a 5-2 victory against struggling Bournemouth at Old Trafford on Saturday. Mason Greenwood banked two snipes, with Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, and Bruno Fernandes also on the scoreboard, as the Red Devils netted five goals in a home league game for the first time in almost nine years. The team remains 5th in the EPL with a W15 D10 L8 record, trailing 4th-placed Leicester City by four points, but with a game in hand.

Both Rashford and Martial top Manchester United’s scoring table with 15 Premier League markers each. Goalie David De Gea, meanwhile, sits 13th in the league with 82 saves. He has collected 10 clean sheets in 33 contests this year and gives up a goal every 90 minutes on average. The Red Devils have banked the 5th highest number of EPL goals this season (56) while taking the 4th highest quantity of shots per game (14.8). The team is 5th in both ball possession (54.4%) and passing accuracy (83.3%).

Prediction

On the verge of extending their current 16-game unbeaten run in all competitions (W12 D4) to 17 straight fixtures, Manchester United are presently enjoying some of their best form in recent times, scoring goals for fun (3.67 per game in their last three contests) and keeping clean sheets on a regular basis (six in their last nine EPL outings). For Aston Villa, who have only managed to win one of their previous 42 Premier League matches against the Red Devils, life has been much harder lately, with the team from Birmingham currently riding a nine-game winless streak (D2 L7). The Villans have been outscored 12-2 in their last seven contests, failing to find the back of the net in five of them.

Best bet:

Manchester United to win to nil (+110)

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