On Saturday, Manchester United visit Villa Park as part of a televised late kick-off. United, reeling after a loss to Crystal Palace in mid-week, will go one of two ways – either come out dazed or strong, writes Villa blogger Matthew Turvey.

Villa have a pretty poor reputation against United at Villa Park having not won in 16 years on home territory. Last season, a promising 2-0 lead courtesy of some of Villa’s youth was sapped away leaving Villa to only take a point.

So what is it that makes United such a bogey team for Villa? Is it something specific about United’s team? Or something else?

Make no doubt about it, United are a good team. With Ferguson’s achievements over his tenure at the club, there are few managers that can equal his domination. However, they are beatable, and McLeish’s men must be hoping they can get something out of it.

However, to get something out of this game, I think it is going to take a change from the existing setup. Playing defensively against a team like United is like taking a clock and waiting for the barrier to break.

United know how to attack, and they have the ability to move the ball around. Solely defending isn’t going to work, but the problem Villa have is two fold.

Firstly, they have players who are aging and thus don’t have the legs to play real counter attacking football with pace.

Secondly, the defensive football previously exhibited by McLeish is likely incompatible with winning against United.

Playing deep away is one thing, but effectively letting United have space to pass the ball around is a very dangerous idea. With the width United have, and pace, such a tactic is only going to get a draw. A draw may well be a fair result against a team of that quality, but problems currently run deeper than that.

Ask Villa fans nowadays what the problem is with McLeish and the main response is the quality of football. Some might say his past, but the general concern is defending first means playing to draw. Whether Villa are entitled to win certain games is debatable, but seeing the effort to win them is a basic principle of keeping the fans happy.

After all, this is England. Here’s the land of the underdog with spirit that likes to go down punching. If you can’t win, at least have a good go. In recent games, I’ve seen a lack of application outside of a few players. Agbonlahor has been a sensation for Villa this year, providing goals and scoring them. Herd has moved into the first team with a high degree of application. Given has, as always, been working well.

Beyond those three though, I’ve struggled to see consistent effort. The likes of Dunne and Collins have made mistakes that have gifted goals. The mix up between Collins and Dunne for one of Tottenham’s goals was a prime example. In these instances, the defence have played in a manner that seems to have fear written all over it.

Whether this is because the full backs have been in patchy form, effectively leaving Dunne and Collins exposed to crosses, is a possibility. However, for me at least, the problem has been about being second to the ball.

Maybe this is a sign of aging players. After all, if your legs are gone, you can’t compete first for a ball. Perhaps this is why Gabby is so far ahead of most of the squad in terms of effort this year. Not only does our number 11 have commitment, he has pace, and with that pace he can get into the faces of the opposition when we don’t have the ball.

So how do this relate to the United game? United need to be kept pressed in order to stop them from getting into the flow of a game. Let United run, and it will be game over.

Maybe we can use the youth to give United that inability to drop into that rhythm that lets them play football. Keep it simple. Use the pace of players that have it and stop United from having the chance to think about three different ways to beat their man.

Standing off United and backing off down the wings is only going to fuel their ability to stick balls where they want. Villa’s main aim has to be to break that up.

Leave United to play football, and Villa will be taught a lesson in it. Press, play for the whole 90 minutes, and use the energy Villa have in their squad, and Villa have a chance.

The only concern from fans is many think McLeish won’t do it. Their fear is that it will be another defensive display with a countdown to letting a goal in. Nobody knows how it will play out for certain till we can look back on the game on Saturday night.

Whether we look back on a win, loss, or draw, the bare minimum we expect is effort. If we’re going to be second to the ball, we’re going to be second in the game.

In a two horse race, second should never be your target. Aim for first, and see what happens. Who knows, you might actually win.