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Football pundit and former Blackburn Rovers forward Chris Sutton has predicted a narrow victory for Aston Villa when they take on Manchester United this weekend. The Villans are set to travel to Old Trafford for a Premier League encounter on Sunday, 30 April.
United come into this game after playing out a 2-2 stalemate away to Tottenham Hotspur in midweek. The Red Devils threw away a 2-0 half-time lead after a poor second-half showing.
Villa, meanwhile, beat Fulham 1-0 at home thanks to Tyrone Mings' 21st-minute strike. It was their sixth win in seven matches and extended their unbeaten run to eight games. The victory lifted them to sixth in the Premier League standings, six points behind fourth-placed Manchester United.
Given the Villans' form and United stumbling a little in recent weeks, Sutton feels an away win is on the cards on Sunday. He predicted a 2-1 win for Unai Emery's side in his column for the BBC, writing:
"Aston Villa could close the gap on Manchester United here to just three points, although Erik ten Hag's side would still have two games in hand."
The 1994-95 Premier League winner went on to praise Ollie Watkins, who has scored 13 times in 21 matches under Emery, and Emiliano Buendia, saying:
"I can see why Villa are on such a good run because Ollie Watkins carries a real threat, Emi Buendia is so creative and they have a properly balanced midfield. They are on a high and playing with freedom and, although I think it will be close, I fancy Villa more.
Sutton also believes United's injury concerns are an issue and concluded:
"United have been missing their first-choice centre-halves, Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane, and they don't look confident when teams have a go at them the way I am expecting Unai Emery's side to."
Martinez is expected to miss the rest of the season, while not much is known about when Varane will return. Manchester United will also be without Alejandro Garnacho, Donny van de Beek and Scott McTominay for Sunday's match, while Harry Maguire is doubtful.
Aston Villa and Manchester United have beaten each other apiece this season
Aston Villa and Manchester United have already clashed twice this season, with both teams picking up a home win each.
Their first meeting was in the Premier League in November last year. In what was Unai Emery's first match in charge of the Villans, they won 3-1 at Villa Park courtesy of goals from Leon Bailey, Lucas Digne and Jacob Ramsey. United, meanwhile, scored just before half-time through a Ramsey own goal.
The two teams met again less than a week later, this time in the third round of the EFL Cup at Old Trafford. Manchester United recorded a brilliant 4-2 comeback win over Aston Villa enroute to their cup win.
Ollie Watkins put the visitors in front in the 48th minute, but Anthony Martial equalized in the very next minute. Diogo Dalot's own-goal put Villa back in front around the hour-mark.
However, goals from Marcus Rashford (67') and Bruno Fernandes (78') turned the tie on its head before Scott McTominay sealed the win in added time.
