MANCHESTER UNITED v DERBY COUNTY
Friday 5th January 2018 – Kickoff: 2000hrs
Football – England – FA Cup betting Tips
Not too far away, Manchester United are also in FA Cup action on Friday night when they welcome Championship outfit Derby County to Old Trafford with both clubs taking breaks from their respective top of the table campaigns.
United are in a similar position to Liverpool even though they sit in a more favourable second place in the Premier League, they’re still a significant 15 points adrift of their noisy crosstown neighbours and the FA Cup may well provide another avenue for Mourinho’s side to claim silverware this season.
With the ever increasing significance of the Premier League (and claiming a top four spot for Champions League qualification), Mourinho is likely to shuffle his pack for this clash. Strikers Ibrahimovic and Lukaku are likely to miss out, while influential midfielder Pogba may be rested.
Visitors Derby County are in a similar position in the Championship to Manchester United as they sit in second spot but are 12 points behind midlands rivals, Wolves who sit clear at the top of the second tier.
It’s therefore highly likely that manager Gary Rowett may not risk a number of first team regulars for the visit to Old Trafford, as the prize for attaining a place in next year’s Premier League is worth over 100 million pounds, far more than what they’d receive in gate receipts if they went deep into this competition, I daresay.
Accordingly, I wouldn’t be surprised if he leaves leading goalscorer, Vydra (14 goals) on the bench for this one, and Rowett will look to keep things tight until perhaps having a go later in the seond half if the scores are level.
Pick: Under 3 @ 1.62 Marathonbet
