By Richard Bailey Last updated: 21st November 2008
Ferguson: Wary of Villa threat
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has re-iterated his belief that Aston Villa are good enough to finish in the top four come the end of the season.
On Saturday Ferguson takes his side to Villa Park, where they have won 11 times in their 16 meetings since the Premier League began.
But it is Villa's form this season and in particular their win over Arsenal at the Emirates last week which has made Ferguson sit up and take notice.
He said: "I thought their performance against Arsenal was outstanding last week and I expect a difficult challenge."
The win at the Emirates sees Villa tucked just beneath the Gunners in fifth place, separated only by goal difference, while Martin O'Neill's men are only one point behind United in third.
For this reason Ferguson believes that Villa are close to breaking the top four's hold on the Premier League.
He said: "I think they have a chance. I think they can do that. At the moment they're level with Arsenal, just behind us, that's a good position to be in."
The United boss is in no doubt what the reason is behind Villa's improvement in recent seasons.
He added: "Without question, Villa are an improving side and Martin (O'Neill) has done a fantastic job there. He never changes his side much from the previous week so they have that consistency.
"Martin is one of the best managers in the game. He's proved himself.
"The only way you can judge managers is how they prove themselves over a period and the job he did at Leicester, Celtic and now Villa shows he is an obvious top manager, no question about that."
The Red Devils travel to Villa Park without striker Dimitar Berbatov, who had to be substituted for Bulgaria in their friendly defeat to Serbia, but could be boosted by the return of Wayne Rooney, as he looks to have shaken off a calf injury to partner either Carlos Tevez or Danny Welbeck in attack.
He added: "We've got options. Welbeck is a good one to have because he's fresh, he's improving and he's a different type of player from what we have.
"If Rooney is fit, I'm not in bad shape in terms of options up front."
| Time | Fixture |
|---|---|
| Saturday 15th August | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Aston Villa vs Wigan |
| 15:00 | Blackburn vs Man City |
| 15:00 | Bolton vs Sunderland |
| 15:00 | Chelsea vs Hull |
| 15:00 | Everton vs Arsenal |
| 15:00 | Man Utd vs Birmingham |
| 15:00 | Portsmouth vs Fulham |
| 15:00 | Stoke vs Burnley |
| 15:00 | Tottenham vs Liverpool |
| 15:00 | Wolverhampton vs West Ham |
| Tuesday 18th August | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 19:45 | Birmingham vs Portsmouth |
| 19:45 | Burnley vs Man Utd |
| 19:45 | Fulham vs Blackburn |
| 19:45 | Hull vs Tottenham |
| 19:45 | Sunderland vs Chelsea |
| 19:45 | Wigan vs Wolverhampton |
| Wednesday 19th August | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 19:45 | Liverpool vs Stoke |
| Saturday 22nd August | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Arsenal vs Portsmouth |
| 15:00 | Birmingham vs Stoke |
| 15:00 | Burnley vs Everton |
| Time | Result |
|---|---|
| Sunday 24th May | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Aston Villa 1 - 0 Newcastle | |
| Blackburn 0 - 0 West Brom | |
| Hull 0 - 1 Man Utd | |
| Man City 1 - 0 Bolton | |
| Sunderland 2 - 3 Chelsea | |
| Fulham 0 - 2 Everton | |
| Arsenal 4 - 1 Stoke | |
| West Ham 2 - 1 Middlesbrough | |
| Wigan 1 - 0 Portsmouth | |
| Liverpool 3 - 1 Tottenham | |
| Monday 18th May | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Portsmouth 3 - 1 Sunderland | |
| Sunday 17th May | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Chelsea 2 - 0 Blackburn | |
| West Brom 0 - 2 Liverpool | |
| Saturday 16th May | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Newcastle 0 - 1 Fulham | |
| Bolton 1 - 1 Hull | |
| Stoke 2 - 0 Wigan | |
| Middlesbrough 1 - 1 Aston Villa | |
| Tottenham 2 - 1 Man City | |
| Everton 3 - 1 West Ham | |
| Man Utd 0 - 0 Arsenal | |
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