James eyes win over Villa to spark a run
Manchester United forward Daniel James is targeting a victory over Aston Villa that could ignite the club’s season. The Red Devils have won only four of their 13 league games, placing them just three points above today’s opponents at Old Trafford.
With clashes against Tottenham and Manchester City continuing a run of three games in seven days, James knows the value of securing three points against a Villa side boosted by their 2-0 victory over Newcastle.
“It’s very important. I think December and after Christmas, it really opens out,” James said.
“This is our chance to go on a good run and keep doing the things right that we’ve been doing. This season, Villa have really surprised people. I played against them last season.
“They’re a very good team and they’ve still got a lot of the players they did last season, but obviously they’ve added a lot of good players as well. “They’ve come from a good win on Monday night and we’re preparing hard for it. They’ve got great qualities and that’s something we’re going to look at and we’ll try and get a stamp on it.”
James is an admirer of Villa playmaker Jack Grealish, who has transferred the outstanding form he showed in the Championship into the top flight.
“As you’ve seen in the week, he got a lot of praise. He’s a great player,” James said. “Obviously, he’s taken it into the Premier League and I’m sure people think he can do it at the top level.”
Aston Villa boss Dean Smith insists the club’s encouraging performances against Premier League heavyweights give them confidence heading into today’s clash.
Villa, who ended a three-match losing run in the competition by defeating Newcastle 2-0, have yet to claim a major scalp in 13 outings this season, but Smith takes heart from their appetite for the challenge.
“We know that we can be competitive with the top teams and we’ve shown that at Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham,” he said.
“We haven’t come away with the results we would like, but we haven’t been very far away from getting them.”