Man Utd have a perfect third round tie in the FA Cup as they host Championship side Reading. Jose Mourinho’s men are enjoying a resurgence at present and while it will not be enough to win them the league, they look a great bet as 9.00 fifth favourites for the FA Cup. Reading are third in the Championship and fighting for promotion, so they are likely to see this as a distraction and would not mind losing to the Red Devils too much. You would therefore expect a comfortable win for Man Utd at Old Trafford.
Man Utd won the FA Cup last season to move level with Arsenal as having won this competition the most times, with 12 victories apiece. The Gunners could be fierce opposition for them this time around, along with Chelsea, Liverpool, Man City and Tottenham, but given the way they have been playing Man Utd will be quietly confident of defending their crown.
After their worst ever start to a Premiership season, Mourinho’s side have really turned things around, with five consecutive wins closing the gap on the top four considerably. Paul Pogba is starting to deliver on the promise that convinced Utd to break the world transfer record to re-sign him, and up front Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been banging in goals left, right and centre, while the defence is finally starting to play like a Mourinho backline. Even Usain Bolt phoned in on a Manchester talk show to say they look like the Man Utd of old at present.
Despite their resurgence Utd are still well behind Premiership leaders Chelsea, and cracking into the top four is a more realistic target this year. But Mourinho would love to win a cup. Doubters have written him off as being over the hill after the was sacked by Chelsea last season with the Blues performing disastrously, and then led Man Utd to an awful start to their campaign this time around. He will be desperate to silence them with silverware – and gain another opportunity to mock his bête noir, Arsene Wenger – and that has been evidenced by the importance he has placed on the League Cup, a competition the likes of Wenger have never bothered with. Utd are in the semi-finals against Hull and should earn a final meeting with either Liverpool or Southampton.
He will go hell for leather in the FA Cup too in a concerted bid to win trophies. Man Utd fans deserve success and this is a way to give it to them. They are a better side than last season thanks to the arrivals of Pogba and Ibrahimovic, and they have a great chance.
You would fancy them to demolish Reading in this third round tie, and the odds are predictably short. The best price you can get on a Man Utd win is 1.25 with Stan James, and many will only go to 1.20, but that actually looks a decent price for any accumulators.
Bet Victor is offering 1.96 on Man Utd winning to nil, and that looks a great option. Reading’s players should be awed by playing at Old Trafford, and they are unlikely to create too much against Man Utd’s high octane midfield. Another option would be to go Man Utd -1.75 on the Asian handicap, at 1.83 with Bet365, or Man Utd half-time/full-time at 1.75 with Coral and Bet Stars.
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