'All over the place' - Paul Merson and Alan Shearer agree over Aston Villa vs Manchester United prediction

Paul Merson and Alan Shearer have made their predictions for Manchester United's clash against Aston Villa.

United travel to Villa Park on Sunday afternoon for the Premier League clash against Unai Emery's team. Erik ten Hag and Co. go into the fixture on the back of a dramatic 3-3 draw with Porto in the Europa League on Thursday night.

The Reds currently have just seven points from their first six Premier League matches and were beaten 3-0 by Tottenham Hotspur in the top flight last weekend. As a result, Ten Hag's future as United manager has been the subject of speculation in recent weeks.

United take on a Villa team with 13 points that beat Bayern Munich in the Champions League in midweek. Merson has explained why he does not see United getting all three points and has predicted a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Villa.

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"Match of the week, definitely. Aston Villa are coming off the back of the greatest result they've probably had in the last 30 years," Merson told Sportskeeda. "Manchester United, on the other hand, are playing really bad football at the moment.

"But quite honestly, I think it is a good time for United to be playing Villa because of their midweek battle against Bayern Munich. Unai Emery's men left everything out there, then again it's still really difficult to look past anything but a win for Villa in this one.

"Manchester United are all over the place. They only win games in the Premier League when they desperately need it, you know what I mean? How many times in the past have we talked about Erik ten Hag being sacked after a bad run of form and suddenly they get a win against a bottom-half team and everything is forgotten?

"If they win now, the same thing will happen again. If they lose, they'll fall way behind in the race for the top four. Manchester United are not a team who can return to form like turning a tap on. It's even safe to say that they would want to be where Villa are right now as a club."

Shearer was in agreement with Merson and believes that United will fall to another defeat when they face Villa. The former Newcastle striker named the two Villa players who he believes will cause United problems.

"Aston Villa host Manchester United on Sunday, and it is a huge game, especially for the away side. Man United cannot afford to be humiliated again," Shearer told the Metro.

"For Aston Villa, they’re at home, they’ll be looking to take the points and use the momentum from that great win over Munich in midweek.

"With Villa’s home record under Emery and the pressure that Man United are under, I’m predicting a home win on Sunday," Shearer added.

"I think Ollie Watkins has his mojo back in terms of scoring goals and if he doesn’t perform here, then [Jhon] Duran will come on and score from the bench anyway, just like he did in midweek. Those two will shine again in a home win."

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