Aston Villa vs Manchester United
There is no doubt that Manchester United haven’t been playing the most scintillating football over the past few weeks, but they have still managed to grind out victories. A win at Villa Park on Saturday will extend their winning run to seven and increase the gap between them and the bunch of clubs chasing the final Champions League spot. The home side however will be looking to avenge their derby defeat last weekend, which ended a run of five games unbeaten.
Here are the three key battles that will decide the game.
Christian Benteke vs United’s center backs
One of Aston Villa’s problems so far this season has been their lack of goals. One of the main reasons for that has been their striker Christian Benteke. The Belgian striker has missed a large chunk of the season so far with injuries and suspensions. Although he is the side’s third-highest goal scorer this season, he only has one League goal and a fit and firing Benteke would be just what the doctor ordered for Villa against Manchester United.
Although Manchester United have conceded just three goals in their six game winning streak, they haven’t looked completely comfortable at the back. The constant shuffling of the center backs has meant that there is a lack of understanding in defense, which has forced David De Gea to do more work than he otherwise should be doing. If Benteke, with his pace and power is on song, it will be a tough ask for an injury-ravaged United back line to return back to Old Trafford with a clean sheet.
Juan Mata vs Carlos Sanchez
If there is one player who has benefited massively from the injury to Angel Di Maria, it has been Juan Mata. The Spaniard has finally been given a run of games in his preferred position and that has certainly paid dividends for the club. Mata’s linkup play with the front two has been impressive and has come up with not only some precise passes in the attacking third, but has also scored some crucial goals as well and he will be looking to keep that run going against Aston Villa.
With Tom Cleverley ineligible to play against his parent club, Carlos Sanchez will be left with the job of marking Juan Mata. The Colombian has certainly done well at Villa so far this season, breaking up the play and starting attacks as well, from the back. With Mata in such good form, the 28-year-old will have his work cut out for him at Villa Park and if the Spaniard gets the better of him, then it will be game over for the home side as they will be quickly over run and the game will spiral out of control.
Battle on both flanks
With both sides expected to line up with three at the back, Saturday’s game might be one of the few games in which both Ashley Young and Antonio Valencia aren’t constantly double teamed by full backs and wingers. What that also means is that, the battle on the flanks will be crucial and integral to both side’s chances in a game, that will be highly congested in the middle.
Both Villa and United have attacking wing backs, who are better going forward than staying back and defending. So whoever can do a better job defensively will not only stop the other side from creating too many chances but will also force all the play to go through the middle, which will only make it harder than it already is, with the number of bodies that are there centrally.