Football expert Ryan Elliott previews Manchester United's Europa League quarter-final clash with FC Copenhagen, providing a 21/20 tip.
Man Utd & Under 3.5 Goals
As the business end of the Europa League gets underway, our attention first turns to Manchester United’s clash with FC Copenhagen.
He won’t admit this, but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be quietly delighted with the draw, particularly considering Inter, Sevilla, Wolves, Leverkusen, Shakhtar and Basel were the other potential opponents.
This said, Copenhagen have proved they’re more than handy in this competition, and will see this as a total free hit. Stale Solbakken’s men have lost only two of their last 10 European matches, most recently beating Istanbul Basaksehir 3-0 to overturn a first-leg deficit.
Furthermore, they’re also incredibly solid at the back, and haven’t conceded more than once at any stage this season in Europe.
As for United, it’ll be interesting to see how the side adapt to their surroundings in Cologne. The Red Devils have won just two of their five Europa League away games this season, drawing to AZ Alkmaar and Club Brugge while losing to Astana.
Of course, not only are United in better form now, but they also have the luxury of being able to start their strongest XI on Monday, so I don’t expect this to have too much bearing.
A narrow United victory looks the play here, and at 21/20, I like the look of the Red Devils winning and under 3.5 goals to be scored.
10 of Copenhagen’s last 11 in Europe have seen under 3.5 goals, and while United’s undoubtedly have the firepower to cause some serious damage, the Danes’ solidity at the back will go a long way towards keeping things tight for long periods of the game.
It’ll be closer than some may think, but United to eventually break Copenhagen down to progress is where I’m leaning.
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