MANCHESTER UNITED eased some of the pressure on Erik Ten Hag with a weekend win but that heat will be cranked up once more if they fail to follow it up with another victory at FC Copenhagen in the Champions League.
Successive 3-0 losses in league and cup to Manchester City and Newcastle left the United boss staring down the barrel when he took his side to Fulham on Saturday but they dug deep to pinch a 1-0 win at the death.
Our man Mark and plenty of other punters fancied the Cottagers to pile on the pain and while Ten Hag's side turned in another poor display, they ended up with three precious points thanks to Bruno Fernandes' late goal.
Now attention turns back towards Europe as Manchester United look to salvage something from a campaign that started terribly with defeats to Bayern Munich and Galatasaray.
After those setbacks, United knew they needed to take six points from their double-header with FC Copenhagen to stand a chance of going through but they almost blew it at Old Trafford when the Danes came calling.
Only a late Andre Onana penalty save denied Copenhagen a draw and the keeper's heroics also salvaged a bet builder for Slips Tips. But the Danes gave a good account of themselves and will be confident of getting their revenge back on home soil.
Only two late Galatasaray goals stopped FC Copenhagen from winning in Turkey in their group opener and they also took the lead at home to Bayern Munich before the German giants hit back to claim a 2-1 win.
That suggests Manchester United will need to be at their best to get the win they crave and there has been little evidence of that over the last few weeks.
How the bookies view it
I'm surprised to see Manchester United as odds-on favourites for this one, given their recent troubles. They are a best 43/50 at Midnite while FC Copenhagen are as big as 7/2 with BetUK and the draw pays 11/4 at Bet365.
Head to head
FC Copenhagen have lost three of their four games against Manchester United but all those losses have come at Old Trafford. They've only hosted the Red Devils once before and that Champions League match in 2006 ended in a 1-0 win for the Danes.
Players to watch
Jordan Larsson was Copenhagen's penalty sinner in their last Euro outing as he failed to follow in the footsteps of legendary dad Henrik by scoring at Old Trafford. But the striker scored at the weekend against Randers and will be desperate to make amends against Manchester United. He's 4/1 at Unibet for anytime scorer.
Ramsus Hojland has failed to score in the Premier League since his big-money move from Udinese to Manchester United but has scored three times in the Champions League this term. The young Dane is back in his homeland and will be desperate to impress so could be worth a punt at 7/4 (BoyleSports) for a goal.
Anything else catch the eye?
Both teams need a win to stand a realistic chance of making the knockout stages so it should be an open game. Over 2.5 goals is a best 10/13 at Unibet and BTTS a little shorter at 8/11 with the same firm but combining those picks in a bet builder gets you to evens at Bet365.
Rasmus Falk Jensen should be at the heart of the midfield battle so I like the evens on offer at SkyBet for him to commit over 0.5 fouls. Unibet price him at 24/5 to pick up a card and that also looks good as he has collected five yellows so far this season.
We saw 15 corners in the first leg, with 10 of them going to Copenhagen. So the 6/5 on offer at Bet365 for over 10 corners in this game looks good while Copenhagen +1 in the corner handicap is 20/21 with the same firm.
This UEFA Champions League match between FC Copenhagen and Manchester United will be played on Nov 8, 2023 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best FC Copenhagen vs Manchester United prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
