Prediction & odds for the game: Manchester United (1/9) v Colchester (18/1)
When: Wednesday, 18th December 2019 @ 8pm K.O
Where: Old Trafford
Manchester United will attempt to reach the final four of the Carabao Cup when they go head to head with Colchester United this week.
Manchester United
The tides are slowly beginning to turn for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and one way in which he could really cement his future with the club would be to secure a piece of silverware. The Carabao Cup offers up a great opportunity for them to do just that, because if they can get the job done against the fourth tier Colchester, they’ll be just three games away from lifting the trophy. They need to take things one step at a time, though, because taking their opponents lightly could lead to humiliation.
United have only lost once in their last six, with that being a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Astana in what was a second string side. They also drew with Everton and Aston Villa, but in the midst of all that, they’ve picked up wins over AZ Alkmaar, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur.
Colchester
Colchester are in the playoff mix down in League 2, but up to this point, the highlight of their campaign has quite clearly been their run to the final eight of the Carabao Cup. They’re the ultimate underdogs in this David vs Goliath clash and while they’ll want to get the win, just getting to this point is an achievement in itself. If they’re able to get into the semis then they’ll start to legitimately believe that anything is possible – as they should.
Colchester were knocked out of the FA Cup by Coventry recently and also lost to Stevenage in the Leasing.com Trophy, not long after beating Ipswich in the very same competition. In the league they’ve drawn against Cheltenham & Scunthorpe to go alongside a narrow win over Salford City.
Conclusion
Colchester are going to give it everything they’ve got, because of course they are. The financial gain that comes with a trip to Old Trafford will certainly bode well for them, but they’ll have to get men behind the ball and try to find some kind of gritty counter-attacking goal. They’ve been going well in League 2 up to this point, but this is a whole new ball game. We think they’ll fall short and United will edge their way into the next round, but that’s nothing to be ashamed of.
We don’t think Solskjaer’s men will blow them out of the water, and we also don’t anticipate it’ll be a full strength side. As such, we’re going with under 2.5 goals, although if United score early it could be a bit of a bloodbath.
Verdict: Back the home win at odds of 1/9 and the under 2.5 goals scored at odds of 13/5. (All odds are taken from bet365).
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