Manchester United form ‘doesn’t matter’ v Aston Villa as defeat admission is shared
Dan Bardell doesn’t think form matters for Manchester United when facing Aston Villa after winning both games last campaign.
The Villans suffered two defeats against Erik ten Hag’s side last season despite finishing four places above them in the Premier League.
The Red Devils now travel to Villa Park on Sunday 6 October looking for a first win in four games after throwing away a 2-0 lead in midweek against Porto (3 October).
Sky Sports and talkSPORT journalist Bardell is not looking forward to the clash, believing that form goes out the window when United face Villa.
Speaking exclusively to Villa News, Bardell said: “It’s my least favourite game of the season, it’s a game I never look forward to.
“No matter what is going on in Aston Villa’s or Manchester United’s world, they always find a way to win or Villa find a way to lose.
“Villa were better than them in both games last year and they still managed to lose both.
“United are coming into the game really struggling but this fixture over the years has shown that form doesn’t ever seem to matter.
“I expect Villa to win because they are better than Manchester United right now but that is never how it seems to work.“
Aston Villa historically struggle v Manchester United
Villa Park and Old Trafford haven’t been happy hunting grounds for the Villans when facing Manchester United winning just three times since 2000.
Unai Emery’s first game in charge of Villa came against the Red Devils with a 3-1 win thanks to goals from Leon Bailey, Lucas Digne and Jacob Ramsey.
The Spaniard hasn’t picked up any more points against Ten Hag since then despite them having a difficult year and finishing eighth last campaign.
Their fans are growing impatient with the Dutch manager and a defeat in B6 could prove to be the final straw for the ex-Ajax boss.
There could be a bounce to protect him from the players or Villa could take advantage of their frailties to secure another famous win after beating Bayern Munich.
It will certainly be an interesting home clash for the Villans against a side they typically struggle against.
In other Aston Villa news, a transfer was almost agreed upon for Jhon Duran with a PL club before the deal was turned down by one player.
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