Manchester United

(Form check: DWWWW)

The month of December has treated the United fans well with five wins and one draw in all competition’s. Most notable in those games is the free scoring nature of the team (something I didn’t expect to be saying after early season form!) averaging 1.98 goals per game. Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s consistently finding the back of the net again and if you fancy him to score anytime you’re looking at best priced odds: 19/20 (with William Hill – Bet Here!). Considering all other notable attacking players in the Red Devil line are 13/8 and under that price seems a little high considering he takes all free kicks and penalty’s.

Many a pundit has highlighted the return of Michael Carrick to the team as being the protagonist of improved form and I’m joining in, with him returning its allowed Paul Pogba and Ander Herrera to push up the pitch by 20 – 25 yards contributing to the attack. With this in mind both players are much more likely to pick up Man of the Match performances, currently 14/1 & 16/1 (With SkyBet – Bet Here!). For those who need an accumulator bumper why not put in Pogba to get an assist? 11/4 (with Unibet – Bet Here!)

Wayne Rooney, Eric Bailly and Luke Shaw are all long term injury problems for Manchester United but Henrikh Mkhitaryan will hope he has a starting berth after his outrageous (although offside.) goal last week. Bet365 are offering 10/1 (Bet Here!) for him to score a brace and he’s certainly found form lately with three goals in his last 4 games. At the back United still don’t seem the full shilling though conceding late on last time out. 4/7 (with Paddypower – Bet Here!) for a home clean sheet defiantly doesn’t float my boat!

Middlesbrough

(Form check: DLDWW)

Aitor Karanka faces off against Jose Mourinho for the first time as a manager, having served under the Manchester United boss during their stint at Real Madrid. He leads his Middlesbrough team who has stuttered over the last month or so and only have one away win to their name, a 2-1 win over Sunderland back in August. The bookies are taking their chances of the upset offering 14/1 (with Coral – Bet Here!).

Although The Boro have been hard to beat on many occasions this season its hard to see them taking anything away from this. They boast the 6th best defensive record in the league but still find themselves being sucked into the relegation battle, currently only 4 points from the drop. The problem all season has been scoring goals, only 16 in total. This is why William Hill are offering 6/4 (Bet Here!) for an away goal, something I can’t see happening. Many Boro supporters will be hoping Karanka uses the January Transfer to find that spark up top but seemingly the news is thin on the ground.

If you’re looking for some value for the away side why not look at the cards market…Middlesbrough have 4 regular first team players all of whom have each received over 4 cards this season. Gaston Ramirez is the most likely candidate after picking up 6 yellows so far (40/17 with Unibet – Bet Here!) but  Adam Clayton also looks overpriced at 40/17 (with Unibet – Bet Here!). If you fancy an aggressive natured game, odds of over 22/1 are available for a sending off. Just head to Unibet (Bet Here!) again for this particular market.

STATS

• Man Utd have been winning at both half time and full time in their last 4 matches (Premier League).

• Man Utd are undefeated in their last 11 matches against Middlesbrough in all competitions.

• Man Utd have kept a clean sheet in their last 3 matches against Middlesbrough in all competitions.

• There have been under 2.5 goals scored in 5 of Middlesbrough's last 6 away games (Premier League).

• Adam Forshaw boasts a 90.4% successful passing accuracy (Premier League).

Recommended Premier League Offer: Betting on Manchester United vs Middlesbrough? Claim this Manchester United vs Middlesbrough betting bonus from bet365! 

CURRENT MATCH ODDS (BEST PRICED ODDS)

Manchester United: 1/4 (Betfair Sportsbook) - Bet Here!  Draw: 5/1 (Coral) - Bet Here!  Middlesbrough: 14/1 (Coral) - Bet Here!

SUMMING UP!

This looks like a comfortable winter warmer home win for the Red Devil fans and sorry to those away supporters but I can see several goals hitting the net. The big players are stepping up to the plate for Manchester United and I cannot wait to see Paul Pogba controlling that midfield. By the end of the weekend Boro could see themselves perilously close to the drop so hope they can use the transfer window in the right way. They’ve played good football but today is not their day!

MY RECOMMENDED BETS

• Manchester United 2 – 0 (9/2 with Paddypower – Bet Here!).

• Manchester United 3 – 0 (7/1 with BetVictor – Bet Here!).

• Adam Clayton to be booked (40/17 with Unibet – Bet Here!).

• Penalty to be awarded (10/3 with Betfair Sportsbook – Bet Here!).

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