Manchester United may have to wait to exert their authority over Yeovil in the FA Cup fourth round on Friday evening, according to our Matt Brocklebank.
Yeovil Town v Manchester United recommended bets
2pts most goals to be scored in the second half of Yeovil v Manchester United at 21/20
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Yeovil Town v Manchester United (1955 GMT, BBC One)
There were some eye-watering sums of money mentioned following Alexis Sanchez's move from Arsenal to Manchester United but a potential debut against Yeovil would act as a humbling experience for any international superstar, and it wouldn’t be a surprise at all to see Jose Mourinho name him in the team.
Angel Di Maria was among the scorers when the sides met at Huish Park in the third round three years ago and Sanchez is evens in a place (generally a shade of odds-on) to get off the mark at the first time of asking for United.
The anytime scorer market is pretty congested as you might expect but the value may lie with the likes of fringe players Marouane Fellaini and Scott McTominay – both used pretty sparingly by Mourinho but capable of popping up with goals from set-pieces.
However, that shouldn’t be something United have to rely on here, with their superior quality throughout bound to show through if they’re able to get the ball on the deck and open up their Sky Bet League Two opposition.
Marcus Rashford is widely expected to lead the line and he’s 4/1 to score first, the same price to claim two or more and 18s in a place for his first senior hat-trick.
The England man has four FA Cup goals from eight appearances in the competition including a brace at home to Reading 12 months ago.
That was a pretty strong side put out by the Premier League club and although Tottenham at Wembley on Wednesday night will clearly be prioritised over this match, there’s unlikely to be many risks taken when it comes to keeping the momentum rolling.
United haven’t tasted defeat since the derby on December 10 and have now won their last four in all competitions without reply.
I'd be more inclined to side with the visitors to add another win to nil at odds of 3/4 rather than get too carried away with anything on the handicaps – the favourites are 6/5 to defy a -2 start.
One promising route is to back more goals to be scored in the second period. United haven’t been blowing sides away lately, scoring just a couple of first-half goals (both in the 3-0 win over Stoke) in their six most recent outings.
They’ll no doubt be out to silence Yeovil pretty quickly but the hosts obviously have the capacity to play well above themselves in front of a packed house, despite missing goalscorer and former United trainee Otis Khan due to suspension, and a bold show in the first half seems likely.
United’s power and pace will inevitably be too strong for Darren Way’s side, who shipped four in the final 20 minutes at Morecambe recently, as well as conceding two second-half goals against Chesterfield last weekend, but they may have to wait to be totally sure of their progress to the fifth round.
Elsewhere on the night, Sheffield Wednesday are 6/5 favourites to see off fellow Sky Bet Championship side Reading.
The Royals are scratching for form but are unbeaten in six against the South Yorkshire side and probably offer a spot of value as neither outfit covered themselves in glory in the last round - requiring replays to progress past Stevenage and Carlisle respectively.
Prediction: Yeovil 0-2 Manchester United (Sky Bet's odds: 5/1)
Posted at 1340 GMT on 25/01/17.
