Betting tips / Lee Dixon / 15 April 2012 / Leave a comment Bet Now View Market

Some may be expecting a goal-fest when Manchester United meet Aston Villa in their Sunday Premier League match-up, but not Lee Dixon, who thinks the margin will be narrow at best.

Manchester United to win to nil
The Wigan game unexpectedly revealed a bit of jitteriness in the United camp but are they really going to drop points at home to Aston Villa? The Betfair market probably has it right with the league leaders just [1.24] to win Sunday's lone Premier League fixture. And we're not in the business of recommending bets at that sort of price!

Instead we're better off pushing the boat out a little more and backing United to win to nil. Phil Jones had a super start to his United career after his switch from Blackburn and has duly been rewarded with a few England caps. His versatility at a time when injuries were plaguing the Red Devils' season was priceless but I'm not sure that right-back is his best position. He had a pretty mediocre game away at Wigan and I think they look a more settled back four with Rafael slotting in on the right. His extra pace more than makes up for what Jones bring to the table in terms of aerial prowess.

I think the Brazilian will be restored to the starting line-up for this one and with the likes of Darren Bent and Stylian Petrov out and the likes of Gabriel Agbonlahor and Emile Heskey struggling for form I think United can win and keep a clean sheet in the process. The Opta stats back this up and we're reminded that Sir Alex Ferguson's men have won their last six Premier League games at home, conceding just one goal in this run.

Correct Score
A conservative prediction of 2-0 at home to Aston Villa served us well last week at a big price. Maybe the fans at the game weren't delighted that United didn't try to rack up a big score but we did say in our preview that United are in the results business, not the entertainment one. At this stage of the season it's wins that matter and with some tired bodies in the squad after a long season we may well get another 'professional' display rather than a rampant one. Splitting stakes between 1-0 and 2-0 United is the way to go.

Corners Odds
Manchester United have two of the finest wingers in the league in their ranks in the shape of Antonio Valencia and Ashley Young and the former in particular is in superb form. So much so that United's gameplan when things aren't going their way revolves around giving the Ecuadorian as much of the ball as possible and asking him to make something happen. If him and Young see plenty of the ball you've got to think the corner count will rack up.

As for Villa, there may be a recall to the starting line-up for their own wing wizard Charles N'Zogbia and corners may be viewed as their best chance of nicking a goal with the likes of James Collins very strong in the air. A high number of corners is expected so 13 or more at around [2.6] should be backed.

2 pts Back Manchester United to win to nil @ 2.04
1pt Back Manchester United to win 1-0 @ [9.8]
1 pt Back Manchetser United to win 2-0 @ [7.2]
2 pts Back 13 or more corners @ [2.6]