Ex-Manchester United striker Michael Owen is backing Aston Villa to narrowly beat his former club in their FA Cup third-round tie.
Owen says interim boss Ralf Rangnick is already under the cosh after a poor start to his time in charge and the BT Sport pundit feels the Red Devils may suffer another setback tomorrow evening:
“He’s only been in the job for a short time, but pressure is on Ralf Rangnick. Performances haven’t been good, and the club is desperate to win some silverware. Villa will be up for this and there’s no way Steven Gerrard will play a weakened side here. United might, and I can see Villa edging this. ”
Owen has gone with a 2-1 victory to Villa, which is not an unfair prediction. Considering their poor performance against Wolves last time out, Rangnick’s men are likely to find it tough.
Since taking charge in November, manager Steven Gerrard has guided his team to four wins in eight games. He has already come up against Manchester City, Liverpool & Chelsea and, while Villa didn’t get any points, two of those fixtures were narrow one-goal defeats.
It means United will have to do a lot better than they did versus Wolves if they are to progress to the fourth round at Old Trafford tomorrow.
