Coral’s Heroes and Villains: Red Devils derby delight

Sherwood succeeded in every aspect of his targets, guiding his revived West Midlands team to a terrific triumph on his old stomping ground, a win which sees them climb to 15th place, six points clear of danger.

Villains
Stuttering City stars
After making a bright start to the derby through Sergio Aguero, City then crumbled, as the Red Devils rampantly downed their bitter rivals on home soil.

Among the many faltering high-profile stars in Pellegrini’s line-up, club skipper Vincent Kompany was again off form and was very fortunate to escape an early exit from proceedings.

The Belgium international challenged Daley Blind forcefully, leading to prolonged moments of hesitation from referee Mark Clattenburg, before a yellow card was eventually given. As well as the captain’s poor showing, Yaya Toure was exposed in midfield, while Jesus Navas missed a great chance to give City an even earlier lead, with Argentine attacker Aguero the only real threat going forward.

Toothless Tigers
Steve Bruce’s hapless Hull City looked to have turned a corner when they rallied to back-to-back wins over fellow bottom sides Villa and QPR in February but, after six top-flight games without a victory and three consecutive defeats, the Tigers lie in deep trouble.

It doesn’t get any easier either, as Bruce’s strugglers will have to contest four of the top seven teams in their last six matches this season, following the recent 2-0 dispatching by Southampton. The Tigers are now even-money to face the drop this season with such a daunting run-in ahead.

Carlos Sanchez
Despite Villa boss Sherwood stating his attacker had sacrificed himself for the good of them team, after brining down Spurs’ Danny Rose during a counter attack, Sanchez could have spoiled his side’s chances of three points with his red card.

The Colombian took out Tottenham’s full back and received a second yellow card, meaning he will now miss the FA Cup semi-final meeting with Liverpool at Wembley. His decision could be costly at a time in the season when the Villans need a full squad available for the long run in.

Villa are available at 9/1 to lift this year’s FA Cup, as they prepare to face Brendan Rodgers’ Reds in a mouth-watering Wembley encounter.