Premier League 
/ Lee Dixon / 02 December 2011 / Leave a Comment 
Wayne Rooney should feature up front for Manchester United again on Saturday
"Sir Alex will be expecting a reaction from his players and a much-improved performance after what’s happened in the last week or so and I think he’s going to get one. United should win this."
After a tricky week with indifferent results in three different competitions, Manchester United should return to winning ways when they travel to Villa Park, a venue that has proved to be a happy hunting ground in recent years...
It's been a poor week by Manchester United's standards.
I've praised Newcastle's performance at Old Trafford in my preview of their match against Chelsea already. But whichever way you look at it, that was a match United really should have won if they're going to successfully defend their title. The shock Carling Cup defeat to Crystal Palace was a different story of course because only a couple of the players who started that would possibly feature in Sir Alex's strongest XI. It suggests that maybe there isn't as much talent in reserve at Old Trafford as there has been in yesteryear but that's for him to worry about another day. Let's just focus on this Aston Villa match for the time being.
Match Odds
Aston Villa started the season well and were undefeated for a while but even in those early weeks there were very obvious signs of where their problems lay. They can grind out 0-0 and 1-1 draws with the best of them but don't really have another gear to turn to if they go behind. They're solid and resilient but at times perhaps also lack a little ambition. Seven draws from 13 matches backs that theory up.
Villa Park has been a happy hunting ground for Manchester United over the years. Opta tell us that Man Utd have won 11 times at Villa Park in the Premier League and that only at Everton (14 wins) have they come away with three points more often from an opponent's ground.
Sir Alex will be expecting a reaction from his players and a much-improved performance after what's happened in the last week or so and I think he's going to get one. United should win this.
Over/Under 2.5 Goals
Gabriel Agbonlahor has been in super form this season, scoring goals, creating chances, running at defenders. Darren Bent has just done what Darren Bent does. Five goals from 12 starts without ever putting in a particularly eye-catching performance. But beyond these two there doesn't seem to be much in the way of attacking threats, either from midfield or on the bench. It's in attack that Alex McCleish needs to start looking for new players in the January transfer window.
United have defended better in the league recently whilst not scoring freely themselves so 'unders' looks a good bet at [1.96].
To Score
After adopting a 'horses for courses' approach and playing Wayne Rooney in midfield for a couple of matches last month, Sir Alex restored the former Everton man to his attack on Saturday against Newcastle.
The goals have dried up recently for Rooney but he'll enjoy running at the two Aston Villa centre-backs who have plenty in terms of strength and aerial ability but far less in terms of pace. I fancy Rooney to re-discover his scoring boots on Saturday afternoon.
2 pts Back Manchester United to win @ [1.77]
2pts Back Under 2.5 goals @ [1.96]
1pt Back Wayne Rooney to score @ [2.3]
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