.png)
9 months ago
48 Aston Villa took advantage of Tottenham Hotspur’s 2-1 defeat at home to Wolves to move into the top four last weekend.
Ollie Watkins scored a double that saw the Villans beat Fulham 2-1 at Craven Cottage.
Unai Emery’s side are now sat in fourth on 49 points – five more than Manchester United – but Erik ten Hag can only ask his player to carry on their unbeaten run in 2024.
Former Villa goalkeeper David James has told GGRecon that he facies his former club to finish fourth in the league this season. He even claims they could pip Arsenal to the third spot.
“I think Ollie Watkins is proving himself again this season and it’s been a remarkable campaign for him,” James said. “That being said, I think with the amount of goals and the lack of clean sheets we’re seeing in the Premier League at the moment, there seems to be a lot of players on big numbers when it comes to goalscoring.
“I think Aston Villa have had their wobble. Tottenham are playing better football this season under Ange Postecoglou, however what’s interesting with Ange is that he’s being linked with the Liverpool job already and that could be disturbing for some of the Spurs players. I think Aston Villa are in a better position with Unai Emery for that reason.
“I’m not convinced by Manchester United, and I’m not just saying that because I’m an ex-Liverpool player, because I’m not seeing proper team performances from them despite their run of wins. Unfortunately Luton keep losing at home and that hurts me as a supporter of the club. They keep losing at home by the odd goal and are always in matches until the very last minute. Ironically, I think the only team that has gone to Kenilworth Road this season and properly beaten them is Sheffield United the other week. Even Arsenal needed a last minute goal to beat them earlier on in the season.
“Manchester United still seem to struggle in games for the best part of 45 minutes and that’s something that you shouldn’t expect from a side that has ambitions of qualifying for the Champions League. I think there’s still work for Erik Ten Hag to do. I just think that Aston Villa have had their blip and I believe it will be a fight between themselves and Arsenal for third and fourth place.”
It will be a huge ask for Villa to replicate the form they showed in the first half of the season and for that reason I don’t see it happening.
Ultimately, I’m convinced that we will be fine if the squad can avoid another plague of injuries.
Subscribe to the Stretty News podcast Strettycast for weekly episodes on Manchester United. You can also sign up to the ad-free Stretty Newsletter. Get the Stretty News verdict on all matters Manchester United.

