Old Trafford will host Manchester United taking on Aston Villa in the Gameweek 19 of the English Premier League. Manchester United have had the worst season in 93 years till now. Can they turn things around? Sit back and relax as we and the AI predict the winner of this game at the end of 90 minutes.
Manchester United Recent form
The Red Devils have a total of 53 victories on Boxing Day in the English league, which is only seven more than Aston Villa’s 46 wins. Sheffield United was expected to be an easy opponent for Unai Emery’s team, who were the favorites to secure their 16th consecutive Premier League home victory. However, Cameron Archer, a former Villa attacker, stunned Arsenal and Manchester City by scoring in the 87th minute. Only a last-minute header by Nicolo Zaniolo, seven minutes into added time, prevented Sheffield United from leaving with three points. With Arsenal and Liverpool also drawing their matches, a victory for Aston Villa would have seen them top the Premier League rankings on Christmas Day. However, they remain in third place, one point behind Arsenal. Despite the disappointment, Zaniolo’s late goal extended Aston Villa’s unbeaten run to 10 matches. During this streak, they have scored twice in each of their last three away games. However, they have only managed to keep one clean sheet in their Premier League away matches against Chelsea in September. Although Aston Villa defeated Manchester United at Old Trafford in September 2021, Manchester United has won their last three encounters at the Theatre of Dreams, with Bruno Fernandes being the decisive player in a 1-0 victory in April.
Aston Villa Recent form
Both the home team and the away fans were left disappointed in the first half of Saturday’s match between West Ham and Man United at the London Stadium. However, former Red Devils manager David Moyes was in high spirits after his team’s victory over his former club. West Ham secured the win with goals from Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus, leaving Man United with their eighth loss in the Premier League this season, and their 13th loss in all competitions before Christmas since 1930-31. Although the current situation is not as dire as their relegation year in 1930-31, it is still worrisome for Man United, especially as they have failed to score in their last four games, a first since 1992. Despite managing a goalless draw against Liverpool, their recent defeats against Bayern Munich, West Ham, and Bournemouth have raised concerns. Their recent home form is also a cause for worry, as they have lost four out of their last seven Premier League home games at Old Trafford, although they still hold the record for the most Boxing Day wins in the Premier League, with 21 victories.
Key stats
- Manchester United boasts a strong historical record against Aston Villa, winning 38 of their 56 Premier League encounters, drawing 13, and losing five.
- In their recent meetings, Villa has shown improvement with two wins in the last four matches, equaling their total from the previous 51 encounters against United (D12, L37).
- Manchester United faces the risk of losing three consecutive games at Old Trafford for the first time since October 1962 under Sir Matt Busby.
- Under Erik ten Hag, United has faced challenges, losing four of their last seven home league games while winning the remaining three.
- This season, Manchester United has suffered 13 defeats in all competitions before Christmas, marking their highest number of losses since 1930.
- The Red Devils are experiencing a goal drought, failing to score in four successive games across all competitions for the first time since November 1992.
AI Predicts
We gave the stats, recent head-to-head game facts, and current form of both the teams to Natural Language processing AIs (ChatGpt and Bard), and here are the results.
ChatGPT’s prediction – Draw
‘Given Manchester United’s historical dominance, recent home struggles, and goal-scoring challenges, the match against Aston Villa is poised to be closely contested. However, considering United’s home advantage and the unpredictability of football, the outcome remains uncertain.’
Bards’s prediction – Manchester United Win
Despite Villa’s recent form and United’s struggles, Manchester United are favored to win on Boxing Day due to their strong historical performance on the day and their desperation to avoid a third consecutive home loss. Their unbeaten Boxing Day record at Old Trafford and McTominay’s home goal-scoring prowess tip the scales slightly.
Our Experts Predict the Winner
Our Experts Predict Winner of Manchester United vs Aston Villa
Man United has not lost a Boxing Day home fixture since the 1978-79 campaign. However, this season, they have been breaking and matching unwanted records frequently, and their weak attacking prowess is often easily neutralized. On the other hand, Aston Villa’s defensive discipline away from home is not remarkable. Considering Man United’s recent victory over Chelsea, which demonstrated their ability to perform under pressure at Old Trafford, we can expect Ten Hag’s team to take advantage of Villa’s defensive issues and secure a respectable draw.
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