We have a Man United v Aston Villa prediction for you plus a breakdown of the odds, team news and matchups ahead of this Boxing Day game.
The Christmas Period has always been crucial for Man United historically but never more so than right now. If they can put together a few victories the narrative on their current season could completely flip for the positive in the coming games.
Aston Villa have had a phenomenal 2023 and have continued those performances into this season. With them currently battling at the top of the table with the “big boys” can Aston Villa dare to dream of achieving another Leicester-like success?
How To Watch Man United v Aston Villa
When is Man United v Aston Villa?
Aston Villa v Man United will take place on Boxing Day at 8.00 pm in the Premier League’s late kick-off.
TV Channel
In Ireland, Man United v Aston Villa will be broadcast on Premier Sports 1.
Live Stream
In the UK you can live stream Man United v Aston Villa on Amazon Prime. The game can also be streamed in Ireland on Discovery+, a subscription is required for both streaming platforms.
Where is Man United v Aston Villa Being Played?
Man United are at home so this fixture will be played at their home ground Old Trafford in Manchester, England.
Man United v Aston Villa Odds
| Man United v Aston Villa Betting Odds - Premier League | ||
| Team | Odds | Chance |
| Man United | 13/10 | 43.5% |
| Aston Villa | 9/5 | 35.7% |
| The Draw | 13/5 | 27.8% |
Man United are 13/10 favourites for this game to make home advantage count according to the latest football betting odds at BoyleSports.
Aston Villa are marginal 9/5 outsiders despite being ahead of their opponents in the league table.
The draw is priced up at odds of 13/5.
Handicap Betting
Man United: -1 @ 10/3
Aston Villa: +1 @ 4/7
Handicap Draw: -1@ 10/3
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Man United v Aston Villa Weather Forecast
The weather is forecast to be between 4 and 5 degrees with a 0% chance of rain.
Man United v Aston Villa Preview
Man United’s Form
Man United are seemingly in a never-ending purgatory of 2 steps forward and 3 steps back especially in the Premier League this season. However, there are ripples that they could come together in recent weeks. They dispatched Chelsea 2-1 in a comfortable win and put in a resolute defensive performance against Liverpool at Anfield a little over a week ago.
United’s most recent outing came against West Ham at the London Stadium where they fell to another disappointing defeat. This time around it was a 2-0 loss to the Hammers after conceding two second half goals to the Hammers.
Given the volume of fixtures at this time of year you can expect rotation from the side that played West Ham on Saturday. Expect the Academy Players to play a huge role from the established talents of Rashford, McTominay and Evans to the up-and-coming Mainoo, Garnacho and maybe even Mejbri.
Man United have had a misfiring attack this season, scoring 18 goals from an XG of 27.45 in the league which is only better than 4 teams. Their defence is solid though with just 23 goals conceded from an xGA of 32.98.
Man United are in 8th in the Premier League table on 28 points with their Expected Points total having them a much worse 14th on 21.72 xPoints.
Man United’s Last Five Results
West Ham 2-0 Man United | December 23rd | Loss
Liverpool 0-0 Man United | December 17th | Draw
Man United 0-1 Bayern Munich | December 12th | Loss
Man United 0-3 Bournemouth | December 9th | Loss
Man United 2-1 Chelsea | December 6th | Win
3 Losses, 1 Win, 1 Draw
Aston Villa’s Form
Aston Villa have had a phenomenal 2023 and have continued those performances into this season. With them currently battling at the top of the table with the “big boys” could we see ripples of Leicester’s unlikely success yet? If they can hand Man United a defeat it would be another statement of intent after beating Arsenal and Man City in recent weeks.
Villa faced Sheffield United on Friday Night before this game and so will have one more day of rest over Man United ahead of their Boxing Day fixtures. In that match against Sheffield, they were held to a 1-1 draw. If they had beaten the Blades, Villa would have been on top of the table on Christmas Day.
Aston Villa have been brilliant in attacking areas this season with 38 goals scored from an XG of 33.76 which demonstrates how clinical they have been in front of goal.
They have the joint 4th best defence with 22 goals conceded from an xGA of 25.50. Their xPoints has them in 6th though on 30.98 which suggests they are fortunate to have as many points as they do at this stage of the season..
Aston Villa’s Last Five Results
Aston Villa 1-1 Sheffield United | December 23rd | Draw
Brentford 1-2 Aston Villa | December 17th | Win
Zrinjski 1-1 Aston Villa | December 14th | Draw
Aston Villa 1-0 Arsenal | December 9th | Loss
Aston Villa 1-0 Man City | December 6th | Win
2 Wins, 1 Loss, 2 Draws
Man Utd v Aston Villa Predicted Lineups
Man United Predicted Starting XI
Formation: 4-2-3-1
GK: Onana
RB: Wan Bissaka, CB: Evans, CB: Varane, LB: Shaw
CM: Mainoo, CM: Amrabat
RW: Antony, AM; Fernandes, LW: Rashford,
CF: Højlund
Aston Villa Predicted Starting XI
Formation: 3-5-2
GK: Martinez
RCB: Konsa, CB: Carlos, LCB: Torres
RM: Cash, RCM: McGinn, CM: Dendoncker. LCM: Ramsey, LM: Moreno
CF: Watkins, CF: Diaby
Man United v Aston Villa Head-To-Head Results & Stats
All-Time Head-To-Head Record
Man United wins: 104
Aston Villa wins: 51
Draws: 41
Head-To-Head Results Last Five Matches
Man United 1-0 Aston Villa | Premier League | April 30th, 2023
Man United 4-2 Man United | League Cup | November 10th, 2022
Aston Villa 3-1 Man United | Premier League | November 6th, 2022
Aston Villa 2-2 Man United | Premier League | January 15th, 2022
Man United 1-0 Aston Villa | FA Cup | January 10th, 2022
Betting Trends
Goals
Coming into this game, between both teams there has been an average of 2.89 Goals Per Match this season which is less than the league average of 3.07
In historic matches, 78% have had Over 1.5 Goals, 67% have had Over 2.5 Goals and 56% have had BTTS.
Cards
Between both sides, they average 5.11 Cards Per Match, which is slightly higher than the league average of 4.96.
Corners
Interestingly, these sides average 16.66 Corners Per Match between them which is significantly more than the league average of 10.5 Corners Per Match.
Scoring Patterns
The end of the game could be chaotic with Man United scoring 5 goals and conceding 3 from the 61st to 75th minute and in the last 15 minutes they have scored 4 and conceded 4 (accurate as of December 22nd).
Aston Villa’s busiest period comes from the 46th minute to the 60th minute where they have scored 7 goals and conceded 9 (accurate as of December 22nd).
Key Players To Watch
Luke Shaw – Man United
Since returning from injury Shaw has been one of the club's more consistent performers. Whether that be at LB or in more recent times at LCB his versatility and defensive acumen are crucial to the Man United defence.
While his performance against Liverpool wasn’t revolutionary, the team looked far more balanced with him in it. His link-up with either Garnacho and/or Rashford on the LW might be their primary attacking threat for the remainder of the season.
Ollie Watkins – Aston Villa
The pacy Villa attacker Watkins (27) is The Villains’ primary attacking threat and his 9 goals scored along with 6 assists in the league this season have been crucial to Villa’s unlikely league challenge. Watkins could potentially run Maguire, Lindelof or any of the United CBs ragged if on-form in this game.
Man United v Aston Villa Prediction & Best Bet
Prediction: Man United 2-0 Aston Villa
Every game at Man United is a big one, every win is ignored no matter what the performance and every defeat is seen as a “disaster” such is the pressure pot that ten Hag finds himself in now.
Aston Villa are quietly going about their business this season and a victory here would be another statement of intent as we gear towards the New Year and second half of the season.
The result in this one will come down a lot to the momentum gathered from the weekend round of fixtures, but I can see United winning out narrowly.
Best Bet: Man United Win + Under 2.5 Goals @ 11/2
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*Prices subject to fluctuation
