IT may only be Matchday Three in the Champions League but Manchester United already find themselves in must-win territory ahead of their clash with FC Copenhagen at Old Trafford on Tuesday night.
The Red Devils have left themselves with a huge mountain to climb after starting Group A with back-to-back defeats against Bayern Munich and Galatasaray, the most recent of which brought up both of my bets.
That pair of bruising setbacks means Erik ten Hag's team are propping up the section and can now ill-afford any further slip-ups if they are set to the wheels in motion for a Champions League rescue mission.
Last time out, Manchester United secured successive wins in the Premier League for the first time this season with a hard-fought 2-1 win at Sheffield United.
As for FC Copenhagen, they will consider themselves a little unlucky not to have amassed more than one point in Group A after throwing away a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Galatasaray before pushing Bayern Munich all the way in a 2-1 defeat.
Jacob Neestrup's side warmed up for this game with a 2-1 win over Vejle BK on Saturday, a result that maintained the Danes' place at the summit of the Superligaen.
Outright Betting
Despite not having any points on the board after two games, Manchester United are massive 1/3 favourites with Bet 365.
FC Copenhagen came away from their opening away game with a point but the same outcome here is as big as 17/4 (Bet 365) while the visitors are a whopping 8/1 (Bet 365) to emerge victorious.
Betting Angles
I successfully backed Manchester United to bag a narrow win at Brammall on Saturday night and I'm going to side with a similar approach here by bundling up a home win, Under 4.5 Goals and Rasmus Højlund to have a shot on target at 21/20 (Unibet).
Admittedly, the Red Devils remain difficult to trust but they simply have no room for error here and I'm backing them to make their superiority count against an FC Copenhagen team that haven't been pulling up any trees in the Champions League in recent times.
The Danish champions failed to win any of their six group games last season and that sequence has since been extended by two, not to mention they have triumphed in just one of their last 13 away matches in Europe's premier club competition, excluding qualifiers.
With that in mind, couped with the fact that five of United's six wins in all competitions this season have featured four goals or fewer, I'll back the hosts to claim top honours in solid if unspectacular fashion.
Team news permitting, I'll conclude the Bet Builder with Rasmus Højlund to have at least one shot on target when he comes up against his former side
One of the few shining lights of Man United's Champions League campaign has been the form of the big-money Dane who has netted three times in two games Group A outings to date.
Elsewhere, I'll also dip into the Anytime Goalscorer market where the 6/1 (Bet 365) on Manchester United's Scott McTominay to score looks worthy of some loose change.
The all-action Scotsman became United's leading scorer in the Premier League this season when he struck at Sheffield United on Saturday night and he looks too big to ignore here given his current hot-streak in front of goal for both club and country.
This UEFA Champions League match between Manchester United and FC Copenhagen will be played on Oct 24, 2023 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Manchester United vs FC Copenhagen prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
