Regardless of the rights and wrongs of Ian Holloway making ten changes to his side for Blackpool’s game against Aston Villa in the week, Gerard Houllier would have been unhappy that his side were unable to put the Seasiders away more convincingly over 90 minutes.

Villa have had a mixed bag this season thus far, a credible draw against the champions in with an early European exit and a couple of damaging defeats, and with the table so congested from fifth down to fifteenth a result of some description against a depleted Manchester United outfit will be of paramount importance.

United have drawn five from six away games this season and on the face of it a trip to Villa Park would suggest more away day blues for the red half of Manchester. However, Alex Ferguson would not have been happy to see points slip away against local rivals City in midweek, and with a four point gap already open between his side and league leaders Chelsea, he may be prepared to risk more in order to come away with three points.

Prediction: 1-2

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