Manchester United v Aston Villa: Who Will Be The Villans at Old Trafford?

It most certainly will not be easy for Aston Villa when they head north to play Manchester United on Saturday evening, because amongst other things, the Red Devils have lost just once in 31 Premier League matches at Old Trafford.

There's also the rather pessimistic fact that Villa have never won at OT in all the years of the Premier League's existence.

And in case you really wanted to know, in the Villans' last 14 matches home and away against United, they've only drawn once.

Actually, that's not bad; spectators should be in for an entertaining encounter it seems. Well, if you support Manchester United that is.

Aston Villa have lost 13 out of their last 14 matches with Manchester United.

So is there any hope for the mighty Villans?

There could well be, as it has been well documented that United are suffering from a whole load of defensive problems, and even had to put two of their best midfield players at centre-half against Wolfsburg in the Champions League.

However, big Serbian rock Nemanja Vidic looks set to return to action for the match on Saturday; a welcome boost for United boss Sir Alex Ferguson, but not of course, for Gabriel Agbonlahor and co.

Speaking of Aston Villa strikers, both Agbonlahor and John Carew scored at Old Trafford last season, before Cristiano Ronaldo found the net twice, along with wonderkid Federico Macheda, who inspired the famous commentary "Macheedaaaaa!!!".

So despite the return of Vidic, hope could be on the horizon for Aston Villa, especially considering they are the only team in the top half of the the Premier League table not to have lost against any other team in the top 10.

Couple that with the fact they beat Liverpool 3-1 at Anfield, and managed to dispatch Chelsea 2-1 at Villa Park, there is therefore definitely some room for optimism, despite what the statistics show.

To help you decide who will potentially take the points at Old Trafford come Saturday night, here are some more facts you can spend hours reading in to:

• Wayne Rooney has scored five times in his last five matches against Aston Villa
• Rooney has also netted five goals in his last five Premier League matches
• Villa's last victory over Manchester United, in August 1995, inspired the legendary Alan Hansen quote: "You'll never win anything with kids".
• The Villans have scored eight times from corner-kicks so far in the league season, that's higher than any other team.
• Aston Villa have scored in each of their last 14 Premier League matches.

It seems clear that Manchester United and England talisman Wayne Rooney could well play a key role in deciding the outcome of the match.

However, there is a vital Villan who has been on-form too in the shape of James Milner, and coupled with the return of Stewart Downing and the recent solidity of Richard Dunne et al, Aston Villa look sure to provide some tough opposition for their perhaps more prestigious counterparts.

So, who will be the villains at Old Trafford?

Can talisman Wayne Rooney, hat-trick hero Michael Owen, and wonderkid Federico "Macheedaaaaa!" break Aston Villa hearts?

Or will the likes of Stewart Downing and star player James Milner be the fairytale Villans in Manchester on Saturday night?

If one thing's for certain, it's that Saturday's clash between the two could be so interesting, it could even be as entertaining as The X Factor final.