FA CUP 3rd ROUND: The Striker previews the FA Cup third round game on Monday between MANCHESTER UNITED v ASTON VILLA with a recommended BETDAQ bet.

MANCHESTER UNITED V ASTON VILLA

7.55pm We have the final Third Round FA Cup game on Monday night as Manchester United host Aston Villa. This was a pretty obvious TV game when the draw was made, but it’s a fantastic game to have on its own with plenty of talking points. It’s going to be another interesting evening on BETDAQ Betting Exchange with Manchester United trading odds on.

Aston Villa fans have had another exciting week with the signing of Philippe Coutinho on loan from Barcelona. That was a massive coup for Steven Gerrard, and it already shows his pull at the club. There’s no way Cautinho would be as Villa without Gerrard, and it will be interesting to see how he does for the rest of the season. He was superb for Liverpool – obviously he hasn’t been a success at Barcelona but we have saw that same story many times before. He hasn’t become a bad player, he just didn’t fit in at Barcelona. He will do very well again in the Premier League in my view.

I have to say, it’s fascinating what’s happening Manchester United fans on social media at the moment. A large percentage of them are turning on the players, and it’s easy to understand given all the stories coming out. The players are complaining, moaning and it’s easy to look at United’s stats this season and see that they just aren’t working as hard as they can. They are basically bottom of the table in every area that requires hard work. I think for the first time the fans have looked at the situation from the point of view that the players threw Mourinho under the bus, then blamed Solskjaer and now it’s a case of how many managers fall before the players step up.

Of course, we have the usual articles – it’s all Ronaldo’s fault etc etc. The reality is that United have had many issues long before Ronaldo arrived and it just seems like they need a summer clear out. Pogba going might help, but there must be a lot of players just going through the motions collecting their wages each week. Rangnick talks a very good game, but either he’s not living up to that or the players just aren’t helping. Apparently they are complaining about the training times!

The loss against Wolves was another poor performance from United, they created another low xG figures and didn’t deserve to win the game. They can have no complaints. While Rangnick came in to make them more solid at the back, they have lost the attacking flare they had under Solskjaer. They need to find the right balance. Villa have been playing well since Gerrard came in, and despite losing last weekend to Brentford they actually didn’t play that badly – they finished the game with a higher xG figures than Brentford. I feel we’ll have a pretty close game here and I’m happy to have a relatively small lay of United at 1.77. I expect a much closer game than those odds reflect, with United against struggling to create chances.

The Striker Says:
Two points lay (liability) Manchester United to beat Aston Villa at 1.77 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.

You can view all markets here -> https://bit.ly/BDQMunAvl

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