NOTTINGHAM FOREST and Manchester United face off in the fifth round of the FA Cup at the City Ground on Wednesday night.
Both sides will be looking to bounce back from their respective setbacks in the Premier League at the weekend.
Hosts Nottingham Forest remain in the relegation scrap after slumping to a 4-2 defeat at Aston Villa on Saturday, bringing up one of our man Mark’s bets in the process.
The Tricky Trees now turn their attention to FA Cup matters this midweek where they will come up against 12-time winners Manchester United.
The Red Devils five-game winning run across all competitions came grinding to halt when falling to a last-gasp 2-1 defeat at home to Fulham on Saturday.
Erik ten Hag’s team have no time to feel sorry for themselves though as they head to West Bridgford on Wednesday looking to book a spot in the last-eight of the FA Cup.
Outright Betting
Nottingham Forest have already beaten Manchester United at the City Ground this season but the same outcome here is as big as 12/5 on William Hill.
Manchester United are 21/20 favourites on Bet 365 to prevail inside regulation time while the 90 minute draw that would take the tie to extra-time and potential penalties pays 5/2 (UniBet).
Betting Angles
With neither team holding much appeal in the outright betting here, I’ll put together another Bet Builder and back Manchester United to Score and Diogo Dalot to commit a foul at 4/5 on Bet 365.
Whilst Man United’s setback against Fulham on Saturday pretty much typified their season so far, they should be able to land at least one blow against a fragile Nottingham Forest side on Wednesday night.
The Red Devils have scored a minimum of one goal in each of their last 10 matches across all competitions, one of which was against Forest at this venue at the tail end of 2023.
In fact, the Tricky Trees have tabled just two clean sheets in 13 outings under Nuno Espirito Santo's stewardship so far, shipping multiple goals in a sizable eight of those matches.
With that in mind, I’m more than happy to back Erik ten Hag’s to hit the back of the net at least once on Wednesday night.
For the second and final leg of the 4/5 (Bet 365) Bet Builder, I’ll also go with Manchester United’s Diogo Dalot to commit a minimum of one foul during this cup tie.
The fiery full-back is averaging one foul per-game in the Premier League this season, giving away at least one free-kick in each of his last four outings, and he should have his work cut out here against a Forest side that possesses plenty of pace on the flanks.
This Bet Builder would have paid out in each of the previous two meetings between the pair this season so siding with the same wager on Wednesday night looks worthy of interest at 4/5 (Bet 365).
This FA Cup match between Nottingham Forest and Manchester United will be played on Feb 28, 2024 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Nottingham Forest vs Manchester United prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
