Olof Mellberg has stressed the need for Aston Villa to be at their best for the entire 90 minutes if they are to end their Manchester United hoodoo in tonight’s FA Cup third round clash.
Villa went ahead after dominating the opening of the sides’ Premier League meeting earlier this season before lapses of concentration allowed the visitors to score three times in nine minutes before half-time.
United went on to win 4-1 and Villa ended the game with nine men after the dismissals of Nigel Reo-Coker and Scott Carson.
The Red Devils’ only setback against Villa in the past 12 years was a Carling Cup defeat in 1999 when they fielded a virtual youth team.
Mellberg admitted: “We have really struggled against United in the past, especially in the FA Cup. They’ve beaten us the last four times in it.
“It is time for Villa to have a Cup run. We seem to get these tough draws but we are in good form now and hopefully we can get something out of the game.
“You need to be consistent against these top teams and you need to play well over 90 minutes. Hopefully we can do that this teatime.”
New England coach Fabio Capello will be attending the game amidst reports he could pick Villa striker Gabriel Agbonlahor for the friendly international with Switzerland on February 6.
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