After stumbling through the League Cup semi-final (against Hull no less) and thrashing Wigan in the fourth round of the FA Cup, Manchester United now welcome Hull to Old Trafford and there might be a touch of revenge on this one.
Hull have rapidly improved since the arrival of Marco Silva at Hull. There’s more coherence about the side and seemingly a greater commitment to attack at the same time. He’s not been in charge long but despite losing 3 important midfielders to transfer and injury there seems more hope now that Hull can get enough points to stay up.
Manchester United don’t have such small concerns. Instead, they’re looking to gatecrash the Top 4 and end up in a position that seemed theirs almost by right a few seasons ago. I think that’s a lot to ask in reality as the top of the league is crowded with some very good sides and obviously, some have to miss out on Champions League qualification.
In regards to team news, Manchester United will be more concerned about Eric Bailly’s fitness for this match, after his involvement in the African Cup of Nations was ended, than they will be about Timothy Fosu-Mensah who picked up a knock against Wigan. Hull will have to quickly judge whether loan signing Lazar Markovic is fit enough and ready to be thrown straight in but they have some pretty significant fitness issues elsewhere to deal with. Curtis Davies, Will Keane, and Markus Henriksen are all doubts for this match while Ryan Mason is definitely out and Dieumerci Mbokani will need to be evaluated after his AFCON adventure ended.
After 1:1 draws against Liverpool and Stoke, Manchester United need a win and a home match against a weakened Hull side could be just what’s needed right now. As you can imagine the match odds are predictably low for a home win (average of 1.18) and the other two options seem inflated by the bookies to bring us into the market, a tactic that may work on some but not on me.
At about 1.51 for Over 2.5 goals I can very quickly rule that market out as well, I am expecting goals but don’t want to drop to odds that low for my bet. The 1.83 on offer from Pinnacle for Over 3 goals is more my kind of speed and that is a tempting proposition.
It’s not what I’m going for, though. Instead, I’m stepping into the Asian Handicap market and willing to go for Hull +1.5 goals at 2.62 with green listed bookmaker Pinnacle. Hull do have their issues but at the same time, I don’t see them being rolled over in this one. United may well get two goals against them but I think Hull can get one back as well. It’s not an easy bet to back as there is of course risk but I think that the potential reward is worthy of it.
Calculators
