Aston Villa vs Manchester United: Sky Sports pundit delivers ‘harsh’ reality verdict
Manchester United must face the “harsh” reality that they are not as good as Aston Villa this season, according to Don Goodman.
The Villans are eight points better off than United in the Premier League ahead of Sunday’s (11 February) contest at Villa Park.
Unai Emery’s men may have lost 3-1 to Chelsea in the FA Cup in midweek, but they thumped Sheffield United 5-0 last time out in the league.
Villa sit in fourth place and are two points better off than Tottenham, while they could potentially open an 11-point gap on United this weekend.
In the view of Sky Sports pundit Goodman, December’s 3-2 loss at Old Trafford – when squandering a two-goal lead – will be something Villa will desperately want to rectify.
“They’re eight points better off than Manchester United,” Goodman exclusively told Villa News. “If I’m going to be harsh on Manchester United, they should probably be more than eight points behind.
“Manchester United have nicked some wins they possibly haven’t deserved, and they are where they are on merit. Manchester United haven’t merited being sixth in the league on performance levels.
“If you cast your mind back to Boxing Day when Villa were two up at half-time, United then put on the best 45-minute performance of their whole campaign to turn it around.“
Old Trafford defeat fresh in memory for Villa
Goodman added: “That will be fresh in the mind of Aston Villa – believe me, they’ll want revenge. They will fancy their chances at Villa Park. I’d make them favourites to win that game.
“I was at Bramall Lane last weekend when they demolished Sheffield United. It was way too easy. If they’d have wanted to win by 10, they could have gone close.
“I understand, having been in teams that have been cruising at half-time, it’s human nature to coast through the second half.
“But they’re back on track now in terms of top four, top-five finish, and that eight-point cushion on United is big – too big for Manchester United to bridge given what we’ve seen this season.
“I certainly see them staying in the hunt for fifth place, and that could be enough to get them into the Champions League.
“Given that eight-point gap on sixth, they have a massive, massive advantage of playing European football next season. I see Villa as favourites this weekend.
“After 23 games, 15 to go, you can’t say it’s not sustainable any more. If we were talking 10, 12, even 15 games, you’d be thinking ‘not sure, they may tail away’. 23 games? No, sorry.”
Champions League the aim for Aston Villa
The cup exit to Chelsea was a setback given just how badly Villa played on home soil against a very average opponent.
However, the 5-0 win at Bramall Lane last weekend was a return to league form after some patchy results.
Teams go through difficult spells during seasons, and the past month or so has been exactly that from Villa’s perspective.
Yet at the end of it, assuming Sheffield United was a turning point in the league, they remain in fourth place.
Even finishing fifth may be enough for Champions League football, so there is a lot to be excited about.
A victory against Manchester United this weekend would surely create an insurmountable gap, leaving only Tottenham as serious rivals.
Villa’s next three games after that are against bottom-half teams, before a huge home clash with Spurs on 10 March.
Hit a positive run of form in the month leading up to that game and Villa fans can begin to dream of games against Real Madrid and Barcelona.
In other Aston Villa news, Emery must be bold with a player selection decision against United.
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