“Your fortunes in the Premier League can change so fast” - Mark Lawrenson makes bold prediction for Manchester United vs Aston Villa

Former Liverpool defender Mark Lawrenson has backed Manchester United to defeat Aston Villa 2-1 in their upcoming Premier League clash at Old Trafford on Tuesday, December 26.

The Red Devils have been all over the place this season and have already lost 14 games across all competitions. They are currently eighth in the league table with 28 points from 18 games, 12 points behind leaders Arsenal.

To make matters worse, Manchester United have won just one of their last five league games and have failed to score in their last four games in all competitions. They face a high-flying Aston Villa side who find themselves in third place with 39 points.

The Villans have won two of their last four games against Erik ten Hag's men and will be aiming to inflict more damage to bolster their title challenge.

However, Lawrenson has surprisingly predicted the Red Devils to come out on top. He wrote (via Paddy Power News):

"You know what, I’m going to go for Manchester United to win. I just feel, with Aston Villa, that they’ve been on this great run but they’re due a bit of a blip where they lose or draw the odd one like they did before Christmas against Sheffield United. Your fortunes in the Premier League can change so fast so I’m going for United."

Lawrenson's Prediction: 2-1

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Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag urges his side to step up following INEOS deal

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has urged his players to step up ahead of their home fixture against Aston Villa. His comments were made after Sir Jim Ratcliffe bought a 25 percent stake at the club on Christmas Eve - a deal which includes him overseeing all aspects of the men's and women's football operations.

Ratcliffe publicly declared that he wanted to see Manchester United return to the top of English football. The Red Devils currently have a mountain to climb to reach that goal, amid their poor run of form under Ten Hag's tutelage.

Ten Hag said (via The Guardian):

"In every game, they have to step up. I said the word two or three times now: the players have to take responsibility. I have to take responsibility and the players have to take responsibility."

"But everyone. Maybe in moments you expect from the seniors even more with young players around. But if you are good enough, you are also old enough. We have to do it together. It doesn’t matter what age it is. We have to put a team [out] who has to win the game."

He added:

“I am not disappointed by the attitude. But of course we know what the standard is at Manchester United and we have to win as a team. So I take the word responsibility. We have to take that as a team and every individual has to contribute 100% in that responsibility we have.”

As per Ten Hag, Raphael Varane is expected to feature against Aston Villa after recovering from illness, while Anthony Martial is expected to be unavailable.