Mark Lawrenson states his prediction for Aston Villa vs Man Utd | OneFootball

BBC football expert Mark Lawrenson has stated his prediction for Manchester United’s Premier League trip to Aston Villa this evening.

The Red Devils recently returned to winning ways with a slender 1-0 win over the Villans in the FA Cup third round on Monday.

Scott McTominay bagged an early eighth-minute goal for the club, which was sufficient to ensure their progress at Villa’s expense.

Villa were the better attacking side over 90 minutes, but a combined effort from goalkeeper David de Gea and the defence kept them at bay.

United are now scheduled to visit Villa Park in the Premier League. Lawrenson feels the hosts will come on top with a 2-1 triumph.

He told BBC Sport: “Aston Villa were hard done by when they lost at Manchester United in the FA Cup on Monday night, and I reckon they will reverse that result at Villa Park.

“It is United who have got more problems at the moment, though. I really thought we would see an improvement under Ralf Rangnick.

“Their results haven’t been that bad, other than their loss to Wolves at the start of the year, but their performances have mostly been poor.

“There are obviously some deep-rooted problems inside the club that need to be sorted out.”

Our view:

United’s performances have been disappointing since the players returned from a two-week gap, owing to a coronavirus outbreak.

They have picked up just four points from the last three league games and can’t afford another setback in the pursuit of the top four.

Just six points separate them from fourth-placed West Ham United with two games in hand, but they need to capitalise on the situation.

Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur above them also have extra games to play, and the Champions League pursuit could go down to the wire.

Ahead of today’s meeting, United have received a big boost with Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho and Harry Maguire back in training.

All three could make the starting line-up. Ronaldo should relish the challenge with his excellent league record against the opposition.

He could not make an impact in the 1-0 loss in the reverse meeting but has previously netted eight times in 13 league meetings against Villa.

Stats from Transfermarkt.com.

Read: Predicted Man Utd line-up (4-2-3-1) vs Aston Villa, Van de Beek starts.