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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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TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
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2Manchester CityMan City6420146814
3Arsenal6420125714
4Chelsea6411157813
5Aston Villa6411129313
6Fulham632185311
7Newcastle UnitedNewcastle632187111
8Tottenham HotspurSpurs6312125710
9Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton623110829
10Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest62316519
11Bournemouth622289-18
12Brentford6213810-27
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd621358-37
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham6123610-45
15Ipswich TownIpswich6042510-54
16Everton6114715-84
17Leicester CityLeicester6033812-43
18Crystal Palace603359-43
19Southampton6015312-91
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves6015616-101


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