Premier League: Aston Villa v Manchester United Odds and Betting Preview

BIRMINGHAM, UK - Aston Villa entertain Premier League champions Manchester United in the late kick-off this evening, with United looking to end a barren spell of three matches without a win.

Nevertheless, Sir Alex Ferguson’s side have been chalked up as the hot favourites at 3/4 by high-street bookmaker William Hill, meaning that for every £40 that punters bet, they will receive £30 profit on top of their stake should United seal the three points at Villa Park. Another frustrating draw for the Red Devils in their quest to make up ground on arch-rivals Manchester City can be backed at 14/5 with Stan James, almost 3/1, and a home win for McLeish’s men is at 9/2 with Coral and Victor Chandler.

Aston Villa may be sitting in eighth spot in the Premier League table, but statistically this has been their worst start to a season in the past few years. Villa’s record against United is particularly dire, having only won one of the previous 31 Premier League matches between the two sides, so confidence will not be high this evening, although many home fans will fancy that this is an ideal time to play against United, who still have not secured qualification from Group C in the Champions League. It looks like McLeish has secured the services of Portuguese striker Yannick Djaló from Nice, who is set to come in January, and the latest reports suggest that Shay Given will be fine to start between the sticks.

As for United, nothing seems to be going right for them, as they were knocked out of the Carling Cup on Wednesday night by Championship outfit Crystal Palace. Diouf had another shocker at Old Trafford, but normal service should be resumed this evening when Rooney and Hernandez return to lead the attack. The pressure is certainly on Sir Alex’s side to deliver the goods, but many punters will still be keen to oppose them in the betting given their recent form, and it may be that United have one eye on Wednesday’s trip to Basel, which is crucial to the financial health of the club.

In the correct score betting, a 1-0 win to the Red Devils is at 6/1 with bet365, who will refund bets if the game finishes 0-0, and they also take bets ‘in-running’. A 1-1 stalemate looks interesting at 7/1 with William Hill, and only the most optimistic United fans will be backing a 2-0 away win at 7/1 with Ladbrokes. Punters looking to side with Villa can take a 1-0 home win at 12/1 with bet365, or even a 2-1 thriller at 16/1 with Betfred.

The first goalscorer betting market is always a fun one to try to crack on a Saturday, and the market leader for the Villa Park clash is Wayne Rooney, who is fresh and can be backed at 4/1 with Stan James. Rooney is 6/5 with Sporting Bet to score at any time during the 90 minutes and 25/1 with Sky Bet to notch a hat-trick.

Returning to the first goalscorer market, Hernandez is close behind Rooney at 9/2 with Irish firm Paddy Power, whilst Nani is an 8/1 poke with totesport. Another that may be of interest if he starts is Park Ji-Sung at a stand-out 14/1 with Ladbrokes, whilst Villa will be looking towards Bent and Heskey to do the business at 15/2 and 12/1 respectively with bet365.

One of the most popular bets will be Manchester United/Manchester United in the half-time/full-time betting at 13/8 with Ladbrokes, which gives punters the opportunity to support the favourites, but at enhanced odds. Draw/Manchester United is at 7/2 with Coral, or alternatively punters can take United to ‘win to nil’ at a tempting 9/5 with Paddy Power (almost 2/1).

If Ashley Young scores a goal at any time during the match, Paddy Power will refund all first and last goalscorer bets, as well as correct score bets placed on the match.

The match kicks-off at 5.30pm GMT on Saturday 3 December and is live on ESPN HD.