Preamble: It's not looking very good for Villa, really. Here are the stats: Martin O'Neill's team have lost more times to United than they have to any other Premier League side (21 in total). In fact, United have beaten them in every one of their last 10 consecutive meetings, while Villa's last win over Fergie's men was a 1999 Worthington Cup victory. Their last home league win over United was even longer ago - in 1995, when Dwight Yorke was on the Midlander's score sheet.

Worse, on average, Villa have conceded a goal a game this season, while United have kept six clean sheets in a row, haven't let a goal in for 10 hours and haven't dropped a point since losing 1-0 away at Manchester City. On the plus side, Villa have won their last four home games so will want to extend that sequence here. Also, Martin O'Neill would clearly love to beat Sir Alex, who is resting his top scorer Ronaldo presumably in preparation for the Champions League game in Ukraine, against Dynamo Kiev on Tuesday. It's a risk, what with Arsenal winning, and United needing to keep the pressure on the leaders.

Team news:

Aston Villa: Carson, Mellberg, Knight, Laursen, Bouma, Gardner, Reo-Coker, Barry, Young, Agbonlahor, Moore. Subs: Taylor, Davies, Petrov, Osbourne, Maloney.

Man Utd: Van der Sar, Pique, Brown, Ferdinand, Evra, Giggs, Anderson, Scholes, Nani, Tevez, Rooney. Subs: Kuszczak, Ronaldo, O'Shea, Fletcher, Simpson

Token rugby mention ahoy! Apparently there's a big game today, or so you might assume if you'd just seen the helicopter pilot who's just flown over the centre of London with a massive 'Come On England' banner trailing behind him. Still, that's the last of it you'll hear on here. Unless I get desperate.

Steve McManaman on the telly says he thought United would win but, now that Ronaldo's starting on the bench, he doesn't. In fact he fancies a draw. Or maybe a Villa win. Or maybe a United win. Coincidentally the chair he's sitting on in the studio strongly resembles a fence.

"Does anyone have any real interest in this game given the rugby's happening later?" asks Matt Davis, neatly ruining my no-rugby riff. Well, Matt, I hope so otherwise I'm talking to myself here. And not for the first time.

Amid much backslapping, hand-clapping and fist-pumping the teams take to the pitch. United are mixing experience and inexperience in the midfield with Nani and Anderson sitting next to Scholes and Giggs. Perhaps that's somewhere Villa can take advantage?

And they're off: "What's with Fergie's team selection? I know they have injuries, but this feels like he's daring Alan Hansen to make a another infamous quote. I'm officially worried about this game," frets Jon Cummins. It's a jittery start from both teams, not helped when Gardner loses the ball on the right, allowing an early cross. It comes to nothing though.

3 mins: Throw in to Villa, which Laursen hurls into the area. It's easily cleared but then Villa launch a long ball attack up the right.

4 mins: Giggs and Rooney combine from the middle of the pitch to play Tevez in. It's flicked back to Carson by Laursen, though, and Rob Styles has deemed that a back pass. Free kick in the area.

5 mins: Giggs, Rooney and Tevez hover. Rooney tees it up and Giggs slams it into the wall. It was probably too close for them to do much else. But United are on top in these early stages.

7 mins: Tevez has been scurrying about with menace but Nani has the first shot - a sighter from outside the box that Carson watches wide. Martin O'Neill is looking mildly thunderous.

8 mins Ashley Moore pings it in and Young puts himself in the mix on the penalty spot but can't get a shot in. Villa aren't taking this lying down. A through ball to Agbonlahor is cut out well by Ferdinand, but it proves Villa want goals.

9 mins: Ashley Young is tripped on the edge of the box, on the by-line down the left. He aims to float it in, but scuffs the ball into the first man. "Today's the day that the Villa end their Manchester United hoodoo," says George Templeton all the way from Richmond, VA, United States (it says here). "Then again I also proclaimed in the run up to the Scotland-Georgia game that Scotland wouldn't slip up. And we all know how that turned out. Come on Villans, I am tired of losing to these mugs!"

12 mins: GOAL! Aston Villa 1-0 Man United Gardner gets into a good position to cross, but fires it in too hard from the right and it goes over Agbonlahor's head. But then he has another go, over-hit again, before Ashley Young fires it in from the other flank. Agbonlahor heads it in from five yards out.

13 mins: That's Man United's defensive record shattered. They're not happy about it either. They've charged straight up the other end, won a corner and, from it, Scholes fired a decent shot in from outside the area. You don't want to let him have it there.

14 mins: Blimey, it's your clichéd end-to end stuff at the moment. Gardner charges up the middle and puts a good effort just over the bar, before United set up camp outside the Villa box. They're passing it among themselves looking for an opening before a poor cross comes in from Giggs.

16 mins: That was the first goal that United have conceded in over 10 hours. Gardner has been industrious for Villa down the right, aided by Ashley Young who's played well so far too. You never know, perhaps Villa can break the hoodoo.

19 mins: Evra puts over a high cross that Rooney just reaches, he flicks it back to Nani who can't control properly and chips over the bar.

21 mins: The entire front row of the United dugout are chewing gum furiously. If their team can settle, you sense they can get this back. The Villa defence hasn't looked flawless thus far, with balls in behind them looking threatening.

22 mins: Villa are making use of United's less than sturdy midfield though and are getting good ball to the strikers - as evidenced by another Young shot, this time from long range.

23 mins: Ooooh - Tevez gets the ball stuck under his feet when, if he'd freed it, he would have had an excellent chance for a shot. Rooney's buzzing about menacingly too. Meanwhile, out of our window in the GU bunker, there's rather a pretty sunset.

26 mins: Nani and Anderson haven't looked too comfortable yet - perhaps United are missing a calming figure in midfield, someone like the injured Hargreaves or Carrick to pull the strings. The ball breaks to Scholes who's 30 yards out. He has a decent crack but it goes over. He's getting a lot of long-range chances, which is not good for Villa.

27 mins: Brilliant from Tevez. He steps over Scholes' pass to allow it go through to Rooney. Rooney dinks it back to him and his shot is bundled out by Carson. Would have been a fantastic goal.

28 mins: Agbonlahor wins a corner after chasing down a seemingly dead ball. The cross evades everyone in the box and Luke Moore is inches away from connecting and doubling Villa's tally. In another effort to ruin my no-rugby riff, the crowd are singing Swing Low Sweet Chariot. It's not tuneful.

30 mins: Ferdinand tries to make use of the space behind the Villa defence. He launches a long ball from the halfway line that Rooney very nearly gets on the end of. Rooney shouldn't really have been allowed to get anywhere near that.

31 mins: "Rooney is always buzzing menacingly because the next two-footed studs up challenge that he won't even get a yellow card for is always moments away," says our US correspondent George Templeton. To be fair, George, the last time Rooney made a bad challenge he was punished with a penalty that shouldn't have been and the chance of England failing to qualify for Euro 2008. Which is probably worse than a yellow card.

34 mins: Tevez is linking the play outside the box in much the same way Rooney does. There's no-one lurking in the box to get on the end of their industry though. You wonder if there's room for them both in the same team.

35 mins: GOAL! Aston Villa 1-1 Man United Nani puts the ball across the box and Villa just ignore it. Rooney steals in at the back post, not believing his luck, and just taps it in. Awful defending. It was Zat Knight's fault, he just watched it roll past him.

37 mins: That really was shoddy. A complete lack of communication in the Villa penalty area and United are now sniffing blood. They want more. Nani runs it up the right again and wins a corner. Oddly, Paul Scholes has been yellow carded for kicking the ball into the crowd when celebrating the United goal.

39 mins: Nothing comes from the corner, except a bloody nose for Pique who collided with Knight. Ashley Young goes down, which prompts a bout of furiously camp arm flapping from O'Neill who wants the game stopped.

41 mins: Some joker in the crowd hurls a ball from the crowd back to the pitch - narrowly missing Fergie while he's at it. Agbonlahor goes down in the box after tripping over his own feet, appeals for a penalty and gets short shrift from Rob Styles.

43 mins: GOAL! Aston Villa 1 - 2 Man United Tevez again pulls the strings, playing the ball into the middle of the box. Rooney has about an hour to trap the ball, turn and fire the shot into the bottom corner. Poor defending again. Why would you give Rooney that much space and time?

44 mins: "Re: 34 mins, can we now stop asking if Rooney and Tevez can't play in the same team?" says an angry Anthony Doherty. After that goal, the answer is: yes.

45 mins: GOAL! Aston Villa 1 - 3 Man United Villa are reeling. Own-goal from Gardner. A corner came in, Pique headed it at the goal, it was saved on the line before Ferdinand gently knocked it back towards the goal. From that, Gardner sliced his clearance straight into the roof of the net. Comical stuff.

Peep, peep, peep: That's half time and, from a fairly commanding position at the beginning of the first-half, Villa have thrown this away. United are in the ascendancy and Villa will have a hard fight to get back into this.

"Your comment at 34 minutes was quite prescient... have you tried online soothsaying?" asks Simon Carroll. Well, Simon, it was prescient in that exactly the reverse of what I was suggesting happened: Tevez and Rooney linked up brilliantly to score a fantastic goal, proving there's definitely room for them both in the same team. Best go with the exact opposite of what I say in future.

Technically, Luke Moore was offside for Agbonlahor's goal. He was standing in the back of the net as the cross came over but ran in front of Van der Sar, blocking his view. Van der Sar didn't seem that bothered, certainly he didn't complain. It's probably academic, though, United have slowly put a stranglehold on this game, with Villa almost dead and buried already.

Bad news, Villa fans: Jose Acosta from Maracaibo, Venezuela doesn't think Villa have a snowball's. "In fact I expect another goal from United at least!" he exclaims gleefully. So, there you have it. It's all making American correspondent George Templeton's prediction that Villa can end their United hoodoo look a little inaccurate. I suggest you go and sort Jose out, George. He's making you look silly.

We're off again: Rio Ferdinand is claiming the third goal. He'll be lucky. The teams are the same as in the first half.

45 mins: Tevez slides it to Nani, who on the right of the box, tries to centre it to Rooney. Laursen clears then indulges in some vein-busting, vocal-chord-shattering shouting at his defence. Frightening.

47 mins: Far from not being able to play together, Rooney and Tevez are linking up masterfully. Both dropping off and stepping up and complimenting each other's play. Tevez has been the better of the two, dribbling rings round the Villa defence.

49 mins: Gareth Barry has been almost entirely anonymous so far. Nani, meanwhile, is looking more and more a worthwhile addition to United as he seems full of attacking intent.

50 mins: United are almost toying with Villa now. They're passing it around on the edge of the box, sliding the odd ball into the area much like a cat slashes at a mouse before moving in for the kill.

51 mins: George, they're all having a pop now. Here's Archi Campbell: "Is constant whinging an unavoidable side effect of supporting Aston Villa? If George Templeton was moaning about Rooney when they were 1-0 up, what's he like now?" The answer, Archie, is that's he's pretty much maintaining radio silence. Meanwhile, Reo-Coker has earned himself a yellow card while O'Neill lines up some changes.

53 mins: Shaun Maloney comes on for Luke Moore, while Isaiah Osbourne replaces Craig Gardner. Gareth Barry reacts by playing Agbonlahor in, who's tapped by Van der Sar but honestly stays on his feet. He can't get a shot on target though but wins a corner. Van der Sar is lucky not to concede a penalty.

54 mins: Van der Sar tries to punch the corner, completely misses, then falls on the ball. When your luck's in...

56 mins: Reo-Coker has an air shot on the edge of the box but Villa have been better since the substitutions. Certainly they seem to think they're in with a shout. As does Fergie who makes gee-up gestures like a maniac on the touchline.

58 mins: Nani bursts into the box again from the right. His shot lands in the crowd. The cameras cut to a rueful looking Ronaldo sat on the bench.

59 mins: Reo-Coker is off! A second yellow for a badly mis-timed tackle on Anderson. Possibly a little harsh. O'Neill thinks so, he's just squared up to referee Rob Styles! Brilliant!

60 mins: George Templeton is back. "I went to get lunch and this is what happens!!!," he triple exclamation marks. "Good God! Well I am still here to take the slings and arrows. And if you notice it is the fantastic, honest and hard working Tevez that is doing the business for the damn Mancs!"

62 mins: "Tevez and Rooney complimenting each other as well as complementing each other, eh? I heard the English classes were going well," writes spelling pedant Howard Clark about my badly written 47th minute entry. Thanks Howard, I needed that with the boss sat just down the desk.

65 mins: Barry drives a free-kick into the United penalty area from wide and Ferdinand scrambles it away. Osbourne has looked threatening in patches since he's come on and gets on the end of a long cross to earn a corner. Van der Sar punches clear though.

66 mins: PENALTY! Villa are in all sorts of trouble now. Tevez rounds Scott Carson after a good ball in from Rooney. Carson flattens him and gets a red card. No arguments really and Villa are down to nine men.

68 mins: Keeper Stuart Taylor comes on to replace Zat Knight and faces Rooney's penalty - one that will earn him a hat-trick. But Taylor saves it!

69 mins: "The current debate, particularly with regards to United and England at the minute is can they play two little men together to form an effective strike partnership? Since I am in grubby student digs, and don't have access to a TV, I am relying on you to authoritatively, definitely, 100% tell me - can they?" Asks Niall Caldwell. They have to really, as they don't have much choice. I'll throw this one open to the readers, though.

70 mins: Rooney's penalty was a bit weak really. It was low and in the bottom corner but not that well hit. He makes up for it by thumping a powerful shot into the cross bar. Martin O'Neill has now taken to ironically clapping any decision that goes Villa's way. Rob Styles is now safely off his Christmas card list.

72 mins: Taylor should have been on from the start. United work it into the box, there's some interplay between Tevez, Rooney and Nani, before Tevez sees a great shot saved by the reserve keeper.

73 mins: It's Tevez's last contribution as he's subbed for Darren Fletcher. He was on international duty in South America earlier this week, so deserves a break. Today, he's been magnificent. The worse news for Villa is that Ronaldo is jumping up and down and stretching on the touchline.

74 mins: GOAL! Aston Villa 1-4 Man United Another comical goal. Giggs fires a tame shot in and Martin Laursen gets just enough of his head on it to loop it over his stranded keeper. Oh dear. Giggs will claim that one more successfully than Ferdinand but there will still be claims that's an own goal.

75 mins: Even Wes Brown is trying his luck now. A shot from the wing, about 45 yards out, goes this much over the bar. Giggs and Scholes off, Ronaldo and O'Shea on.

77 mins: Daniel Vergara from Florida is narked that George Templeton has been dubbed my American correspondent - especially since Mr Vergara has been updating me with the grand prix qualifying news for the last hour. "Your 'American correspondent' goes out to lunch in the middle of a game... great journalistic ethics all around," he fumes. Put your handbag down, Daniel.

78 mins: "Props to George Templeton for claiming 'I am still here to take the slings and arrows'," says South American correspondent Jose Acosta. On the pitch, United are just stroking the ball around, making use of their numerical advantage and leaving Villa to chase shadows. Demoralising is not the word.

81 mins: United aren't even really trying very hard, to be honest. This is apparently the first time Villa have lost by more than one goal in the last nine months - or so says the telly.

83 mins: "Anyone think Tevez and Rooney can't work together now? It should be 5 or 6-1 by now. And this is without Ronaldo," says Jon Cummings. He's right too. Shaun Maloney has a token shot for Villa but it's over the bar, and plummets depressingly into the crowd.

84 mins: Villa win a free-kick just outside the box, in the middle of the park. "He'll probably blather this straight over the bar," they say on the telly. Nearly: Maloney slaps it into the wall.

86 mins: Poor George Templeton: "What's worse: that this might be a cricket score, that Reo-Coker and Carson's suspension could cost Villa the next 2 or 3 matches, or the fact I have to work in an hour and can't drink this off my mind!?" Definitely the drinking, George.

88 mins: Villa are sort of trying here, just not very successfully. With two players off the pitch, United are just easing them off the ball before launching half-hearted counter-attacks.

89 mins: Nani gets a yellow card for pulling Ashley Young to the ground. The cheers that follow are dripping in irony but Styles hasn't been that one-eyed. From the free-kick, Young delivers it to the penalty spot and Laursen can't quite get enough head to it to direct it on target.

91 mins: It was poor defending that did for Villa really. Another example comes when Ronaldo drives towards the box, hits it and then is given another chance as the Villa defence react slowly to Taylor's save. Corner, from which Rooney has a weak shot a yard wide of the goal.

That's it! United were good but they were aided by Villa's self-destruction. That makes it seven wins in a row for United. O'Neill will probably have several words to say to Rob Styles too but though Reo-Coker's sending off was harsh it was probably just about fair. Carson's was obvious. Men of the match: Rooney and Tevez can argue it out between themselves.

I'm off. Thanks for all your emails, it's been emotional. Oh, and Emma Elísabet Grímsdóttir? It's because they don't trust me yet.