Manchester United welcome Young Boys in Ralf Rangnick's first Champions League game in charge of the Red Devils. Jake Pearson has previewed the fixture and picked out his best bet.
Football betting tips: Champions League
1pt Both Teams To Score ‘NO’ at 23/20 (BetVictor)
Despite opening their Champions League campaign with a shock 2-1 defeat away to Young Boys, Manchester United have topped the group with a game to spare, currently three points ahead of nearest pursuers Villarreal but crucially with a better head-to-head record.
United’s recent turmoil has been well documented, but actually, it is four games unbeaten since Ole Gunnar Solsjkaer’s departure.
Michael Carrick’s steady hand steered United to seven points from nine available against Villarreal, Chelsea and Arsenal, before Ralf Rangnick began his reign with a 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace at the weekend.
The intent was clear, the press will become commonplace at Old Trafford, and though the Red Devils have nothing riding on this game, do not expect the intensity to drop against the Swiss champions.
Kick-off time: 20:00 BST, Wednesday
TV channel: BT Sport 2
Man United 4/11 | Draw 4/1 | Young Boys 7/1
Young Boys failed to kick on from their historic victory over Manchester United, taking just one further point from their four following matches, but they still hold an outside chance of qualifying for the Europa League.
Two points behind Atalanta, Young Boys need to beat Manchester United and hope the Italian side lose to Villarreal; a long shot.
With little to play for then, it is difficult to see this match being anything other than low-scoring.
Also, even in the smallest sample size of one match, Rangnick has already addressed United’s defensive issues, the Red Devils conceding 1.04 expected goals against (xGA) at home to Crystal Palace, still not great, but the least they have conceded in the Premier League since they played Newcastle in mid-September.
If they can replicate that performance against Young Boys they could be in line for just their second clean sheet in the Champions League this term, and just their fifth of the season in all competitions.
On the other side of things, while Rangnick obviously has the reputation for encouraging high-intensity, aggressive football, Manchester United struggled to create chances of any real note against Palace.
Generating an expected goals for (xGF) of just 0.89, and from 16 shots, meaning each shot had an average xG value of just 0.05 – a 5% chance of being scored.
Effectively, while United put up their best defensive performance for ten Premier League matches against Patrick Vieira’s side, they also posted their fifth worst attacking performance of the campaign.
BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE ‘NO’ is available at a price of 23/20 with BetVictor, and with little realistically at stake for either team, that looks worth backing.
Man United v Young Boys best bets and score prediction
- 1pt Both Teams To Score ‘NO’ at 23/20 (BetVictor)
Score prediction: Man United 1-0 Young Boys (Sky Bet odds: 15/2)
Odds correct at 1640 BST (06/12/21)
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