After coming from behind against both Blackpool and Southampton, Manchester United will be hoping to record another league win, but without too many excitements if possible. Aston Villa, on the other hand, are three out of three if we count the time from Darren Bent’s arrival, although the good run will be put to a real test at Old Trafford.

Chicharito on fire, Rooney fears for his place

Table-toppers Manchester United showed just why they are the team to beat this season, with the character shown in games against Blackpool and Southampton one of the main reasons why United are the hot favourites to win the Premiership title. Following the 5:0 victory over Brum, Sir Alex Ferguson’s men endured a tough evening at Bloomfield Road, but managed to win the game despite being two goals down at half-time, before doing something similar in the FA Cup game at Southampton. Javier Hernandez scored in both games, proving that he is in much better form than Wayne Rooney and it remains to be seen whether he will be preferred to the England international, at least as this match is concerned.

Rio Ferdinand and Rafael should be restored to the starting line-up after recovering from injury, but Michael Carrick remains a doubt. Hargreaves, Park and Valencia are still unavailable.

The Darren Bent effect

While it was always expected that Darren Bent’s arrival would have a positive effect on Villa, nobody could have supposed that Villans would win three straight games immediately upon his arrival. Bent was clearly not the only one who helped the side win the three games in question, especially as he wasn’t even in the side when Villa beat Blackburn in the FA Cup, but he did bring a new air of confidence to Villa Park, which helped Gerard Houllier’s side kick-start their season. Shortly before Bent arrived Villa’s star players started returning from the spell on the sidelines, while Jean II Makoun was transferred from Lyon, with all these events creating a nice setting for team’s uptrend in form. After beating City, Wigan and Blackburn, the Villans are brimming with confidence and I definitely believe they can seriously test United’s croked defence.

Darren Bent returns to the side after missing the FA Cup game with Blackburn, while Nathan Barker is out through suspension.

Verdict

With both Manchester United and Aston Villa scoring goals for fun, we are likely to see a very entertaining game at Old Trafford. Both sides boast impressive attacking departments, while they also leave a lot of space behind, so my advice is to back both teams to score.

Our prediction: Both teams to score

Odds: 1.91 (11/10)

Bookmaker: William Hill