Aston Villa vs Manchester United prediction

Aston Villa	vs	Manchester United
	Kick off: 19:45 Date: Fri, 14-Aug-15

Louis van Gaal’s goalkeeping troubles continue, with neither David de Gea or Víctor Valdés available for Manchester United. But Sergio Romero, with 62 caps for Argentina to his name and a clean sheet on debut, is not a bad third-choice option to have. Aston Villa’s new signing José Ángel Crespo is still out with a knee problem but Libor Kozak may feature for the first time since January 2014 after recovering from a nasty leg break.

Match Facts

Man Utd are undefeated in their last 20 away matches against Aston Villa in all competitions. Man Utd have been winning at both half time and full time in 7 of their last 9 matches against Aston Villa in all competitions. Man Utd have scored at least 3 goals in 6 of their last 7 matches against Aston Villa in all competitions. Aston Villa have seen over 2.5 goals in 6 of their last 7 matches against Man Utd in all competitions. There have been under 2.5 goals scored in Man Utd's last 3games in the Premier League.

Missing Players

Player	Reason	Status	Rating
Jores Okore		Out	N/A
Jack Grealish		Doubtful	N/A
Carles Gil		Doubtful	N/A
Gary Gardner		Doubtful	N/A
José Ángel Crespo		Doubtful	N/A

Player	Reason	Status	Rating
Phil Jones		Out	N/A
Marouane Fellaini		Out	N/A
Marcos Rojo		Doubtful	N/A
David de Gea		Out	N/A

Team News

 Aston Villa

• Villa are unlikely to make many changes following their win over Bournemouth last time out.
• Five debutants started that game and they may well be joined in the XI by Rudy Gestede, who scored the match winner from the bench last time out.
• Gary Gardner and Jose Angel Crespo could be back in contention but the game may come too soon for Carles Gil and Jack Grealish, who only returned to training in the week.

 Manchester United

• United are likely to remain unchanged from the win over Spurs, with Sergio Romero keeping his place in goal given that David de Gea's future seems to lie at Real Madrid.
• With Phil Jones out and Marcos Rojo still lacking fitness Blind and Smalling should retain their places at the back.
• Elsewhere Bastian Schweinsteiger will hope to come into contention but may have to make do with a place on the bench once again.

Prediction

Manchester United 2: Aston Villa 1

• Villa made a slow start to their game against Bournemouth but improved after the interval, particularly after the introduction of Rudy Gestede, who should start for the first time on Friday night.
• United were also a little sluggish out the blocks against Spurs but looked comfortable after taking the lead and only really came under pressure again late on in the game, though they will need to improve going forwards.
• Despite an encouraging start from their new signings Villa will still take time to adapt following wholesale changes and United should get better, likely to secure a narrow win in the process.