Manchester United v Reading Betting Preview – FA Cup 7th January 12.30pm
Saturday’s FA Cup starts at Old Trafford and this is the first chance of a potential upset happening in the third round between a Premier League side and an opponent from a lower tier. Reading are going along nicely in the Championship, fully in the promotion race and they will have nothing to lose whatsoever on their trip to the Theatre of Dreams. But they are catching Manchester United who are in some god form at the moment, so will this be a routine victory for Jose Mourinho’s men, even if the boss decides to rest some of his key players? Or can the Royals cause them a headache?
There is an FA Cup special running over at online betting site Ladbrokes and it involves the weekend’s underdogs, well most of them. Bet on a lower league team to win their FA Cup Third Round Tie and if they draw, get a free bet on them to win the replay! This applies to this one then of course and check out their site to see the full details of the insurance offer on the FA Cup. Register an account with online betting site Ladbrokes and earn a free £50 bet as a welcome bonus from the highly rated bookmaker!
Manchester United v Reading Betting Tips
A decent enough draw for Manchester United in the FA Cup third round. They are in good form at the moment having won their last seven matches across all competitions. They have been rock solid at the back as well because they have shipped just the three goals in that seven games sequence. So all is well with the Red Devils at the moment and Manchester United to win to nil against Reading is a good price of 5/6 with Ladbrokes. That will have some big appeal for punters probably and the Red Devils aren’t showing any signs of being taken down at the moment as they have an put up a W10 D3 record across in all competitions in their current form. So there doesn’t appear to be too much of an upset on the cards in this one and Mourinho may well take the chance to rest some players as he has big games coming up after this, especially in meeting Liverpool on their Premier League return. Manchester United 2-0 correct score option at Ladbrokes is a 5/1 quote.
Manchester United are unbeaten in their last fourteen against the Royals in all competitions now. The last time that they went up against Reading in the FA Cup was during the 2012/13 season and the Red Devils landed a 2-1 win at Old Trafford on that occasion. Both teams have actually scored in six of the last nine meetings between the two clubs but Manchester United have conceded in just two of their last five against the Royals. Under 2.5 goals with Ladbrokes on this season’s match up is a price of 11/8. Following this, United play Hull in the first leg of their EFL Cup semi final and then take on Liverpool in the league. So United probably aren’t going to be at full strength, which means Marcus Rashford at 4/5 in the anytime goalscorer market will probably be value, while Wayne Rooney is an 11/10 option. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is a 4/6 shortest priced option in the market. United have played 13 FA Cup matches against Reading before and have posted a W7 D5 L1 record in that sequence.
Former Manchester United defensive stalwart Jaap Stam is the current Reading manger. He has put the royals in with a shot at returning to the Premier League as well as they are currently third in the Championship. This is a hard game for them to win obviously, but they are going in confident form with a W8 L2 record in their last ten games in all competitions. The Royals have scored three goals exactly in each of their last three games a well and both teams to score at Ladbrokes is a price of 11/10. With one clean sheet in their last five played, they are going to give up chances. Garath McCleary from midfield is top scorer for them this term and he is a price of 11/1 in the anytime goalscorer market with Yann Kermorgant coming in at a price of 9/2 to net. The Royals have it in them to perhaps frustrate the Red Devils to a draw at half time and therefore a draw/Manchester United half time/full time bet may have some appeal. A victory looks some way off though for the Royals.
Manchester United v Reading Betting Odds
Manchester United 1/5, Draw 5/1, Reading 14/1
Manchester United v Reading Predictions
An emotional return to Old Trafford for Stam but it will probably be an unhappy one for him. United look organised and even if they aren’t at full strength will have the options available from the bench to pull through this one. It’s likely to be a routine game for the Red Devils and a 2-0 correct score option on them moving through has some appeal.
