Arsenal beat United 2-1 a fortnight ago, yet last week they suffered a 2-0 home reverse against Villa. Surely that means that Martin O’Neill’s team have more than an outside chance of beating the champions at home on Saturday evening? Not according to the bookmakers, who have been quick to chalk up the champions as favourites, going a massive 4/1 (bet365) that the Midlands club take all three points.
Despite being just a point better off in the Premier League than their opponents, Sir Alex Ferguson’s men are no better than 5/6 (Blue Square) to ensure they don’t fall any further behind in the title race. This price is partly based on the fact that the Red Devils have won their past nine matches at Villa Park, triumphing 4-1 in the league last season. Nevertheless, while they might have been head and shoulders above the Villans that day, there are reasons to suggest it could be a tighter affair on this occasion.
Villa have only lost one match at home this season, while United have only managed two wins from a possible six on the road. Therefore, many punters will be laying the visitors at odds of around 1.82 (betfair), backing the home team on the ‘Draw No Bet’ market at 11/4 (bet365) or even backing the match to end all-square (5/2 Victor Chandler). Indeed, O’Neill’s men held Liverpool to a goalless draw earlier in the season, and are likely to try and keep things tight again (No Goalscorer is 11/1 with Sportingbet).
However, others might suggest that after a 5-0 drubbing of Stoke City, we will see the champions have another comfortable victory at one of their favourite grounds in recent seasons. United are 7/2 (Coral) to win the match after being level at half-time, with Skybet offering 2/1 that they already lead at the interval, before collecting the three points by the final whistle. Cristiano Ronaldo is once again recommended to score at any time (6/4 William Hill), with the pace of Gabriel Agbonlahor (9/1 Coral) representing the home side’s best chance of scoring.