Manchester United hold a 2-0 lead as Granada visit Old Trafford, and Jake Pearson thinks it could be another comfortable night for Ole's men.
Football betting tips: Manchester United v Granada (agg: 2-0)
1.5pts Both Teams To Score ‘NO’ at 5/6 (Betvictor)
1pt Manchester United to win to nil at 7/5 (RedZone)
Manchester United are now best-priced 6/5 favourites to win this year’s edition of the Europa League following their comfortable 2-0 win in Granada last week.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men produced a dominant display as they swept aside the team that currently sit eighth in La Liga, with goals from Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes getting the job done in Andalusia.
For Granada, this season has been something of a dream, competing in their first ever European competition and getting to the last eight, despite having to battle through three qualifying rounds.
Granada's dream run appears to be over
Unfortunately for the Spaniards however, this really does look to be the end of the line, and the defeat against United meant four consecutive losses in all competitions for Diego Martinez’ side, scoring just two goals across those matches.
They did bounce back at the weekend, beating fourth-bottom Real Valladolid 2-1, but it is difficult to see them getting anything out of this game.
Manchester United’s away record has been splendid this season, something that was again demonstrated at the weekend as they came from behind to beat Tottenham 3-1 in North London.
They have rightly been awarded plenty of plaudits for their impressive form on the road, but their results at Old Trafford have hardly been horrendous. In fact, Manchester United have the third best home record in the Premier League, with only Manchester City and West Ham collecting more points than the Red Devils on home turf.
United's defence stubborn in Europe
Both teams have found the net in just 20% of Manchester United’s fixtures in the Europa League this season, with Ole’s men stopping the opposition from scoring in 80% of their matches, the highest clean sheet percentage in the competition. Only 36% of Granada matches have seen both sides get on the scoresheet, with the Spanish side failing to score in four of their eleven matches in the competition.
Solskjaer will be desperate to claim his first trophy as Manchester United manager, and particularly after seeing the way Tottenham were dumped out of the competition by Dinamo Zagreb recently, despite holding a 2-0 lead going into the second leg, the Norwegian will be taking no chances in this fixture.
They will be without Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw and Scott McTominay, who are all suspended after picking up yellow cards in the away leg, but that should not pose too much of a threat, and may even force Solskjaer to be a little more cautious with his team selection, opting for an all-round more solid starting line-up.
Keeping Granada at bay will be the number one target for United, despite the notion that the famous Manchester club play every game to win, and that means siding with BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE ‘NO’ in this fixture makes plenty of appeal, particularly at a standout price of 5/6 with BetVictor.
In a similar vein, the way this game is set up should suit Manchester United down to the ground, with Granada forced to take the game to the home side, leaving plenty of spaces for one of Europe’s most dangerous counter-attacking sides.
It is likely that United will catch Granada on the break, and with a home clean sheet expected, that makes a price of 7/5 for MANCHESTER UNITED TO WIN TO NIL another selection of appeal.
All in all, this should be a relatively straightforward night for Manchester United, who already have one foot in the semi-final of the Europa League.
Manchester United v Granada best bets and score prediction
- 1.5pts Both Teams To Score ‘NO’ at 5/6 (Betvictor)
- 1pt Manchester United to win to nil at 7/5 (RedZone)
Score prediction: Manchester United 2-0 Granada (Sky Bet odds: 5/1)
Odds correct 0900 BST (13/04/21)
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