Aston Villa v Man United: No walk in the park for Red Devils

Lay Man United @ [1.7]

Aston Villa v Man United
Friday, 19:45
Live on Sky Sports 1

There was a winning start to the season for both Aston Villa and Manchester United as they enjoyed 1-0 successes. The Villans picked up a bit of a surprise victory at Bournemouth - although it wasn't a shock to all of us - and that will have given them a confidence boost following the loss of Benteke, Delph and Vlaar during the summer.

What impressed me most about that performance was the resoluteness of the players despite being bombarded by an enthusiastic Bournemouth in their first ever Premier League match. While Tim Sherwood's men didn't set the world on fire, they hung in there and then got the all-important winner courtesy of new forward, Rudy Gestede.

Sherwood appears to be building a decent looking squad and has made some shrewd additions since the last campaign. Not only has Gestede come in and made an immediate impact, butMicah Richards brings a bit of class to the back four and he looked very assured on Saturday. And, while Jordan Ayew didn't get on the scoresheet, the former Lorient man looked promising at the other end of the field.

Opponents, Manchester United, also had plenty of arrivals over the summer and although they picked up the three points at home to Spurs at the weekend, their performance was hardly impressive. It may have just been nerves and new players settling in, but they were pretty fortunate to win that game.

The goalkeeping situation is still up in the air, there is no real back-up for Wayne Rooney and the midfield feels overloaded with too many similar type players. Nevertheless, I have faith in Van Gaal's ability and I have no doubt that they will mount some form of title challenge this season, however it may take them a while to hit their stride.

Match Odds
Aston Villa 6.20 Man United 1.69 The Draw 4.00

This is a market I'm looking to play in as the visitors are just far too short at 1.69. Evening games at Villa Park usually have a great atmosphere and with it being a Friday and on the back of an opening day win, I'm sure the locals will turn out in their droves and provide plenty of noise.

There have been better teams than United fail to win under the lights on this ground in recent seasons - see Chelsea - and Van Gaal's side could only manage a 1-1 draw last term.

I was sorely tempted to just recommend a straight up home win, but I have a different plan of attack - more on that later - and I'm happy just to lay United at around the 1.70 mark.

Over/Under 2.5 Goals
Over 2.5 Goals 2.16 Under 2.5 Goals 1.85

The odds are what I would expect and while I'm usually a sucker for goals, I don't have a strong opinion here. It's right that unders is the favourite but I'm not tempted by the 1.85 as there will be at least half a dozen players on the pitch who can conjure a goal out of nothing if they play to their full potential.

Even if we look at last year's results, there isn't much of an angle value-wise as Villa had nine of 19 at home go over 2.5 and United had eight of 19 away, therefore making the prices seem about right.

Draw No Bet

A market that does interest me though is the DNB one as the hosts are available to back at4.60. That's only about one and a half points shorter than in the match odds market and we get our money back if the game ends in a draw in this one.

I've already outlined my reasoning for a positive result for Villa so I won't go over old ground, although I will add that United could only record half a dozen away wins in the previous campaign.

Cash Out

The trading option with perhaps the best opportunity for value comes in the correct score market as 1-1 can currently be backed at 8.60. I expect a tight affair with few goals and this was the result when they met at Villa Park last year.

If the hosts open the scoring then 1-1 should immediately shorten up but even if United net first, I quite fancy Villa to get back into the game.

Recommended Bets

Lay Man United @ 1.70
Back Aston Villa Draw No Bet @ 4.60 

Best Cash Out

Back a 1-1 Correct Score @ 8.60