CARABAO CUP: The Striker previews MANCHESTER UNITED v BARNSLEY with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
MANCHESTER UNITED V BARNSLEY
8pm The Third Round of the Carabao Cup kick offs on BETDAQ Betting Exchange this week, and Manchester United v Barnsley is the headline game on Tuesday night. The EFL have made some changes to the competition this year, but we have a staggered schedule with the Third Round continuing next week as Premier League sides have Champions League commitments. Manchester United come into the game as the red-hot favourites; they are currently trading 1.26 with Barnsley 13.0 and the draw is 6.6 at the time of writing. That 1.26 is the shortest price this week with Manchester City and Liverpool in action next week.
Anything bar a comfortable United win here would be a shock, but Erik ten Hag could easily take the chance to make some changes to his main starting XI. It must be said, that hasn’t been ten Hag’s style since taking over at United – he has played very strong sides right throughout this tournament and the FA Cup. He has been rewarded with winning both competitions over the last two seasons; the main reason he has kept his job to be honest given their finishing position in the Premier League.
For Barnsley this is a massive tie for the League One side. They finished sixth in League One last season which was a good result; they lost to Bolton in their Semi-Final. Quite clearly there’s a huge gulf in class between the sides here, and it’s very hard to see past a comfortable United win. The most interesting angle might be the team news – and from that point of view it’s fastest fingers first when the team news drops. We could see United drift a few ticks if ten Hah does indeed decide to rest some players. They have had a hectic schedule at the start of the season, but as I said it’s not the managers style to overly rest his players.
Barnsley have under-performed at the back this season. Their average xG conceded is 1.09 but they have conceded more than that so far. They finished last season with an average xG conceded of 1.37 which was a mid-table figure for League One. They over-performed in front of goal to finish in the playoff spots. I feel this is about how many goals United will score rather than will they win, and we’ll have to look around the side markets for some value. Obviously United have made some changes during the summer, and they seem to have improved a little at the back – they’ve been exposed against the better sides but they look a lot more comfortable against the mid-table and lower sides so far.
It will be interesting to see can they keep a clean sheet here, but the bet I like is United to cover the 1.5 goal handicap at 1.72. They looked full of confidence at the weekend against Southampton, and it’s clear to see looking at the Barnsley figures that they are going to get plenty of chances here. They can cover the handicap.
The Striker Says:
Two points win Manchester United -1.5 goals to beat Barnsley at 1.72 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/ManBar
