Champions League wannabes ring in 2021 with goals
Manchester United welcome Aston Villa to Old Trafford in what will be only the second fixture of the 2021 Premier League calendar on New Year's Day. The temperature will be around freezing for the encounter, but there are plenty of reasons to suggest the action on the field will bring both entertainment and warmth to both sets of fans watching in the comforts of their own homes. The Red Devils climbed to second behind Liverpool in the last set of fixtures, but the claret and blue side of Birmingham are similarly well placed, and boast another game in hand. Read our preview here:
Rash the bash
There is a strangeness to seeing United up in second place this season at the time of writing. It speaks of a far more competitive division (indeed, Southampton down in ninth are only four points away from Ole Gunnar Solskjær's charges), and even with their uptick in form (winning four and drawing one of the last five), they have rarely dominated their opponents like in much of the 90s and 00s when putting together that run. Only the thrashing of Leeds United can come close to that, and even then, it wasn't a match that warranted such a gap. Marcus Rashford and Aaron Wan-Bissaka's returns to the XI in the last-gasp win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Tuesday were extremely timely, and the manager will be especially reliant on another moment of magic from the former, having been awarded an MBE at the age of just 23, but more pertinently, turning the screw on the pitch. There will likely be some shuffling of the deck elsewhere, however - Fred and Scott McTominay should re-enter the fray to make up the double pivot, and Luke Shaw will be once more at left-back, where he faces a real challenge on his hands.
Crazy for El Ghazi
Dean Smith has a relatively clean bill of health in his squad (Trézéguet aside), and will almost certainly line up to mirror United's 4-2-3-1. Whilst Jack Grealish tends to receive most of the plaudits and publicity for obvious reasons, there are a good number of other members of the team who deserve singling out for praise and prominence. Over the Christmas period, centre-back Kortney Hause has been imperious in both boxes, and Anthony Martial will have a job beating him in the air. To his right, Matty Cash is shaping up to be an excellent option down the flank, defensively reliable as he is willing to get forward to supply the attacking quartet. Penalty misses aside, Ollie Watkins has looked totally at ease leading the line in his first term playing at the highest level. In December however, Anwar El-Ghazi crashed in five goals worth four points on their own to his side, and his propensity to stay out wide with the ball will push Shaw back.
New Year cheer
As United found out with Leicester City and even lowly Sheffield United recently, they're not suddenly going to have things all of their own way. They will be made to fight for every goal and point, and whilst there's still some room for growth and improvement, they are equally capable of self-destructing. The pressure is very much on them to maintain their rich vein of form, and Villa are one of a whole host of teams capable of upsetting them whilst further their own European pretensions. bet365 are offering odds of 2.5 for over 2.5 goals, ironically enough.
