Aston Villa arrive at Christmas in form, winning ugly, and climbing quietly. The league table looks healthy. The mood should be festive. And yet Manchester United turn up again, dragging decades of baggage with them.

On this week’s My Old Man Said, we ask the only question that matters. Is this finally an Emery Christmas, or are Villa about to be visited once more by the ghosts of United past?

We strip away the noise around title talk, dig into why Villa still cannot relax against United, and question whether this run of one-goal wins signals control or simply survival. There is Europa League progress, Basel reflections, United’s injuries and absences, and the uncomfortable truth that history keeps intruding no matter how poor they look on paper.

No hype. No festive false comfort. Just a clear-eyed look at where Villa really are and what beating United now would actually mean.

Also, we hear the first track on the Lovers Walk Unlimited Christmas EP

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