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Former Arsenal midfielder Ray Parlour has predicted a 1-1 draw between Manchester United and Aston Villa when the two sides lock horns against each other in the Premier League. Unai Emery's Villa side travel to Old Trafford on Boxing Day to take on Erik ten Hag's United side who are going through plenty of struggles this season.
Aston Villa and Manchester United have experienced much-contrasting fortunes this season so far. While Unai Emery's side have emerged as surprise title challengers, Manchester United are eight points behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur.
Ray Parlour has predicted a 1-1 draw between United and Villa with Ollie Watkins and Bruno Fernandes scoring the goals. He also claimed that Aston Villa will get something from this match even if they fail to win.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Parlour said, as quoted by TBR Football:
"Well, I did say Man United win but I’m slowly changing my mind now. Even Sam Matterface is changing my mind now. I think Villa will get something out of the game. I won’t go with a Villa win though."
"I’m going to go Man United 1-1, who’s scoring a goal for Man United? That’s the big question. I was going to go Watkins. Fernandes [for United]," he added.
The Red Devils are currently eighth in the Premier League table with 28 points, having won only nine of their 18 league games. Aston Villa, meanwhile, have enjoyed a wonderful season so far and are currently third on the table with 39 points. They are level with second-placed Liverpool and just one point behind leaders Arsenal.
Former Manchester United striker opens up on struggle of watching Red Devils play now
Former Manchester United hero Dwight Yorke has expressed his disappointment at watching the Red Devils play in recent years while Manchester City became the dominant force in English football. The Red Devils have endured a disastrous season this time around and have lost 13 of their 26 games across competitions.
In an interview with The Daily Mail, Yorke said:
"'Watching United has been a struggle. There's no two ways about that. I'm not going to lie, I've walked away from the game: refused to watch for a bit, and just try to catch up on highlights rather than sit through the 90 minutes."
Yorke added:
"Worse still is that City are sweeping all before them, including United in last season's all-Manchester FA Cup final. I still haven't forgotten the fact that we allowed City to repeat history, winning our Treble, because we had a chance to stop them at Wembley and we didn't. The players didn't do what they were supposed to do to protect the biggest legacy of the football club. So I'm a bit miffed by that and I haven't really recovered from it."
Manchester United have also been eliminated from the UEFA Champions League and EFL Cup.
