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Aston Villa and Manchester United have met forty-five times since the beginning of the Premier League. In those matches, Aston Villa have won... three. They've drawn eleven, but that still means only 20 points from 135 available. That's not good.
The good news is that history does not determine what will happen today. Sure Villa have only gotten 15% of the points they could have against United, but they could buck that trend and get 100% of the points on offer today! Is that likely? Heavens no. United are playing decently well (I think their position in the table is a bit misleading, but still can't argue that they're better than we are) and Villa have been pretty terrible this year. But this is exactly the type of match that might be thrilling under Tim Sherwood. Nothing is expected, so his carefree attacking style might yield a surprise.
Of course, it might also yield a beatdown, but let's not think about that.
And if you're looking at the relegation battle, root for West Ham against Leicester, Swansea against Hull, and (shudder) West Brom against QPR. Tomorrow it's Tottenham (against Burnley) and Newcastle (against Sunderland) who you should be asking for Easter miracles.
If you want some pre-match entertainment, check out Jack's tactical preview, Alex's general preview, or our weekly podcast. And be sure to join us in the comments below during the match!
Location: Old Trafford, Manchester, England
Kick-off time: 3:00 PM GMT, 10:00 AM Eastern, 7:00 AM Pacific
Available TV: NBCSN (US), None (UK)
Available streaming: NBC Sports Live Extra, MUTV
Available radio: AVTV (subscription required), Westwood One Sports (US), BBC Radio 5 Live (UK)
For listings in other countries, check out LiveSoccerTV.com.
Aston Villa starting XI
#AVFC (v @ManUtd): Guzan, Hutton, Okore, Clark, Lowton, Delph, Sanchez, N’Zogbia, Weimann, Agbonlahor, Benteke. #AVFCLIVE
— Aston Villa FC (@AVFCOfficial) April 4, 2015
Aston Villa subs
#AVFC subs (v @ManUtd): Given, Vlaar, Bacuna, Cole, Gil, Baker, Grealish. #AVFCLIVE
— Aston Villa FC (@AVFCOfficial) April 4, 2015
Manchester United starting XI
United XI: De Gea, Valencia, Jones, Rojo, Blind, Carrick, Herrera, Mata, Fellaini, Young, Rooney. #mufclive pic.twitter.com/vheo58GLds
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) April 4, 2015
Manchester United subs
United subs: Valdes, Rafael, McNair, A Pereira, Januzaj, Di Maria, Falcao. #mufclive
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) April 4, 2015