Dwight Yorke takes Man Utd swipe as he makes 'massive' Aston Villa statement
Villa host Manchester City on Saturday as they continue their push for top four
Former Aston Villa and Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke has tipped the Villans to finish the higher of his two former clubs this season.
Yorke, who began his career with Villa before joining United to become a treble winner, has made it clear that Unai Emery's men are the more likely of the two sides to finish in the top four after a more positive start to the season than the Red Devils.
The three-time Premier League winner scored 88 goals in 264 games for the West Midlands giants and won the 1996 League Cup with Villa before he went on to bag 66 in 152 matches for his second club, making Villa and United the two clubs he appeared the most for in his decorated career.
Speaking to Sports Lens, Yorke gave his thoughts on how the remainder of the season will pan out for the Claret and Blues.
"Villa are certainly ahead of United right now," admitted the 53-year-old.
READ MORE: Pundits disagree on 'flat-track bullies' Aston Villa in predictions of Manchester City clashREAD MORE: How to watch Aston Villa's festive fixtures against Man City, Newcastle United, Brighton, Leicester City and West Ham United"Villa is a much more consistent team, flying in the Champions League, while United are struggling to overcome Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League. There’s a massive gap between the two clubs at the moment and the journey both of them are on."
The Red Devils have endured the more turbulent time this season with changes coming off the pitch as well as underperformance off it. Erik ten Hag was sacked back in late October, with Portuguese boss Ruben Amorim replacing him. Changes higher up the food chain have also brought disruption to the club, whereas the Villa hierarchy is more than stable with Emery, Monchi and co. all on the same page going forward.
"The result against City might have just given United a glimmer of hope, but Champions League qualification via the top four is a long shot," Yorke said.
"Man United are one game away from collapsing again."
"Manchester United, we’re far too inconsistent. I think when you're that inconsistent, you're going to come up short."
Despite a rough spell during November, going without a win for eight games in all competitions, Villa have shown some consistency with wins following each other in spells and good performances often showing despite questionable results. Despite their defeat to Nottingham Forest last time out, Emery's men led the game for 87 minutes before a late collapse and had won their previous three to restore their fortunes following the brief blip.
United, however, will often follow up an impressive win with a poor loss and vice-versa, making it harder for them to be seen as real top four contenders.
The Villans currently sit seventh in the table ahead of hosting struggling champions Manchester City on Saturday, with Amorim's men lying in a disappointing 13th.
Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk are set to lock horns again on December 21 with the Brit attempting to avenge his defeat by the Ukrainian in May. Victory for Fury could also set up a huge domestic showdown with bitter rival Anthony Joshua next year