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Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? A resounding 3-0 victory over Liverpool last week sees United travel to Villa Park on Saturday having put together six wins in succession.

Further woes for Southampton leave Louis van Gaal’s side three points ahead of fourth placed West Ham, with the Saints and Arsenal a further two points adrift. A title charge may still be largely inconceivable but fan are purring nevertheless after a sustained run of victories and an ideal set of fixtures on the horizon.

A 3-0 scoreline against our North-West rivals many not perhaps tell the full story, with David de Gea once again outlining his worth to the side and strengthening his case for a lucrative new deal amongst our top earning echelon of players. The Spaniard has single-handedly earned the side points on numerous occasions, picking up the Player of the Month gong at Old Trafford for the previous two months. De Gea was on hand yet again last weekend to make a string of impressive stops, earning a rare United clean sheet in the process.

Rooney, Mata and Van Persie were all on the scoresheet, with the Dutchman in particular keeping up his impressive form and goalscoring record of late after a slow start to the campaign. Rooney was once again deployed in a central midfield role – as has often been the case under van Gaal – allowing James Wilson to get the nod up top.

The Liverpool game saw the first time United have taken the field in a 5-3-2 formation at Old Trafford, with newly appointed vice-captain Michael Carrick stepping in at the back alongside Jonny Evans and the returning Phil Jones. It is clear to see that Carrick is a player who van Gaal admires greatly, with his game intelligence making him a suitable candidate for either a midfield of defensive role. He assumes the position from Darren Fletcher who has struggled to pin down a place in the side.

As the Reds travel to Villa Park, the good news for van Gaal’s men is that injuries are down to just seven (is that all I hear you ask), now behind both Newcastle and Arsenal in the injury standings. Di Maria may feature but only from the bench with the manager citing a lack of match practice as the decisive factor, while the re-invented Marouane Fellaini misses out through illness. Rojo, Smalling, Shaw and Blind all remain slightly longer term absentees.

Paul Lambert’s side have plenty of problems of their own ahead of hosting the Premier League’s in-form side as they are without eight first team players as they go in search of a first league win over United at Villa Park since Alan Hansen’s monumental judgement error all those years ago.

Alan Hutton and Kieran Richardson are suspended for Villa with Tom Cleverley ineligible to face his parent club while Ashley Westwood, Joe Cole, Phillipe Senderos and Nathan Baker all miss out through injury.

Fellaini’s absence for United will likely see Ander Herrera replace him in midfield, while Radamel Falcao still longs for the starting slot, which could seem him endure a sustained run in the side. Either he or Wilson should be in line to partner Van Persie – who has five goals in his last five league meeting with Villa – in attack. Absences for Fellaini and Di Maria will likely see Rooney take the field in a central midfield role once again, but whether the side go back to playing a 4-4-2 diamond or stick with a 5-3-2 is really anyone’s guess.

With City five points clear in second place and Chelsea holding an eight-point advantage, any further progress in the Premier League standings is going to be a more gradual process. Eighteen points from eighteen has seen a drastic climb up the table for the Reds, with third place more of less ours to lose. Despite those six successive victories, the manager continues to search for improvements, stating in Friday’s press conference that performances must pick up along with results in the future.

United’s fixture list perhaps until March now makes for extremely pleasing reading and a substantial number of points must be picked up during that period if anything higher than third is to be obtained.

The team is playing with a confidence allowing them to pick up points even when under-performing, while a huge victory over Liverpool occurred with a starting eleven of whom all were at the club last season. It’s amazing the difference a manager can make.

Prediction: Villa have lacked firepower this season, registering just 10 league goals, the worst in the division. The same can’t be said of United of late who have notched 12 times in their previous five matches and have Robin van Persie back amongst the goals. With Falcao edging closer to full fitness and Juan Mata holding a handy scoring record, United should have more than enough firepower to see of Villa in this one. Carrick’s presence at the back, despite not a natural defender seems to have brought an added element of calmness to the defence which will continue to benefit from the return of both Jones and Evans. United 2-0.

Predicted Line Up: De Gea, Valencia, Jones, Carrick, Evans, Young, Herrera, Rooney, Mata, Van Persie, Wilson