Hours away from kickoff at home against Aston Villa on this Sunday, Manchester United currently sit ninth place in the Premier League table and nine points off the pace of the top four. Off to their worst start ever in the Premier League era, this very expensive to construct side is only mid-table.
They have miles to go in order to reach the level of a Champions League qualifying side, but it’s not due to any lack of effort, says the team’s best player, David de Gea. The Spanish goalkeeper, who has dominated the team’s player of the year award in recent seasons, says there is “much to improve” for the Red Devils and that they have a “lack of quality in certain areas.”
De Gea said in an interview with Sky Sports:
“I don’t think it’s through any lack of effort, the boys are leaving everything out on the field in training and games. You could point maybe to a lack of quality in certain areas, but certainly not a lack of fight.”
On one hand, United routed top four side Chelsea in the season opener, and their draw against Liverpool marks the only time this season that the league leaders have dropped points against anybody. On the other hand, they have inexcusable and inexplicable results like losses to Crystal Palace and West Ham United, and a draw against Southampton.
Overall, the whole body of work is blah and it’s the result of a lot of inconsistency.
“We need to win four or five games in a row to be at the top, but at the moment the team is not playing so well,” De Gea continued.
“We’re giving it everything, we’re trying to get those big wins that can put us high up in the table. But the truth is at the moment we’re not consistent enough, there’s much to train and much to improve.”
Manchester United vs Aston Villa FYIs
United starting XI prediction: go to this link
Team news for both sides: go to this link
Kickoff: 4:30 BST, Dec. 1, Old Trafford
Google Result Probability: Manchester United win 64%, Draw 22%, Sheffield United win 27%
Form Guide: Aston Villa- WLLLW Manchester United- DWLWD
Odds via Sky Bet: Manchester United win 1/2, Draw 7/2, Aston Villa 5/1
Prediction: Manchester United 2, Aston Villa 0
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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