Manchester United v Reading: Champions-elect to brush aside Royals

 

Manchester United are edging closer and closer to the Premier League title, and out-of-form Reading are not going to be able to stop the Red Devils in their tracks  says Mike Norman...

 

Manchester United v Reading

Saturday 17:30, live on ESPN

 

Manchester United will go into the game against manager-less Reading with either a reduced lead at the top of the table or the knowledge that they can virtually wrap  up the title, depending on how neighbours Manchester City get on away to Everton earlier in the day.

 

Not that any of this will matter to Sir Alex Ferguson - or at least he'll say it doesn't matter - as his primary aim will be to beat Reading with as less fuss as  possible before travelling to Stamford Bridge for a FA Cup quarter-final replay on Wednesday night.

 

Of course, Sir Alex won't take Saturday's opponents lightly, but he's almost certain to re-shuffle his squad with one eye on Chelsea in midweek. And that makes trying  to predict how United will line-up a far more difficult task than predicting the first six home in a 30-runner Cheltenham handicap.

 

What we do know is that Nani is out after suffering a hamstring injury, while Phil Jones and Paul Scholes are also unavailable. Nemanja Vidic and Robin van Persie  should return to the starting line-up after beginning on the bench last weekend.

 

Reading sacked Brian McDermott on Monday leaving any incoming manager just nine games to save the Berkshire club from relegation; eight if we assume that a new boss  won't be in place prior to the trip to Old Trafford.

 

Assuming that's the case then former Reading academy coach Eamonn Dolan will be responsible for naming the side to play United. He will be without injured duo Adam  Federici and Jimmy Kebe, while Pavel Pogrebnyak completes a three-game ban.

 

 

Match Odds

 

Opta tell us that Reading haven't beat United for over 75 years; I am telling you that Reading won't be beating United in this encounter. OK, that's not exactly the  bravest call I've ever made with the home side available to back at just 1.18, but it's just impossible to make any case for the away side... so I won't! Let's move on.

 

 

Over/Under 2.5 Goals

 

Yes, United will win this game, I'm certain of that. And yes, they'll probably win the game very comfortably, but to see Over 2.5 Goals available to back at just 1.35 is strange to say the least. I don't have the information to back it up, but I'm pretty confident that there hasn't been a Premier League game all season where Overs has traded so low prior to a match.

 

For that reason alone I believe Unders is worth a wager at 3.7 in this market, especially from a back-to-lay perspective.

 

There have been many instances at Old Trafford this season where the home side have started in a pedestrian fashion against some 'lesser' clubs - Wigan, QPR, West Ham  (league and cup), WBA for example - where trading Under 2.5 Goals would have proved very profitable.

 

And just last month United hosted Saturday's opponents in the FA Cup, and with similar line-ups to what we can expect here, the game was 0-0 for 70 minutes.

 

 

Other Markets

 

It will take a brave man to think that Reading can take the lead in this game, but if you think they can then it's worth pointing out the Opta stats that tell us The  Royals have lost at total of 23 points from winning positions this season, whereas United have won 27 points from losing positions - the most in the Premier League.

 

The Champions-elect are 6.0 in the Man Utd Win from Behind market currently, but I'm sure you'd get matched at much higher should you put a request in.

 

And one last bet worth considering is the Draw/Man Utd option at 5.7 in the Half Time/Full Time market. Similar to my reasoning for backing Unders, I wouldn't be surprised at all if Reading went ultra-defensive and United take a little time to find their stride.

 

Recommeded Bet

Back Under 2.5 Goals at 3.7

 

Bet HERE

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