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Alex McLeish warns players to stay on their feet against Ashley Young

Alex McLeish warns his players to be extra careful when challenging Manchester United's attackers ahead of Aston Villa's visit to Old Trafford on Sunday.

Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish has warned his players to be extra careful when challenging Manchester United's attackers, especially Ashley Young, when the sides meet at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Young went down under minimal contact from Shaun Derry to earn a controversial penalty in United's last home game - the 2-0 win over Queens Park Rangers.

McLeish admits that it can be very difficult to avoid conceding fouls against "clever" players, but he will be urging his team to avoid giving away soft free kicks and penalties.

"We will try to stay on our feet against all of United's players," he said. "But sometimes it's not as simple as that. Ashley is a quality player. He is renowned for his assists, but players have become clever.

"Sometimes the slightest touch can be enough for them to go down. I don't envy the referees. I don't want to see a blatant dive but it is very difficult for referees to see if there has been genuine contact."

Villa are currently 16th in the Fair Play League table.

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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Manchester CityMan City4400113812
2Arsenal431061510
3Newcastle UnitedNewcastle431063310
4Liverpool43017169
5Aston Villa43017619
6Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton42206248
7Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest42204228
8Chelsea42118537
9Brentford42026606
10Manchester UnitedMan Utd42025506
11Bournemouth41215505
12Fulham41214405
13Tottenham HotspurSpurs41126424
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham411256-14
15Leicester CityLeicester402257-22
16Crystal Palace402247-32
17Ipswich TownIpswich402227-52
18Wolverhampton WanderersWolves4013411-71
19Southampton400418-70
20Everton4004413-90


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