OMONIA NICOSIA made Manchester United sweat for a Europa League victory last week but Erik Ten Hag will be hoping for a more comfortable night when the Cypriot minnows pitch up at Old Trafford.
Neil Lennon masterminded a famous European victory over Barcelona in his days as Celtic boss and looked set for a repeat when his Omonia side led Manchester United 1-0 at half-time.
But Ten Hag brought on Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial after the break, with the subs torpedoing Omonia's hopes of a shock by firing the English giants to a 3-2 victory. It was far from a convincing display though and our man Mark cashed in after predicting a tough night for the Old Trafford giants.
Man United followed that up with another come-from-behind victory in the Premier League at Everton, with Cristiano Ronaldo stealing the spotlight with his 700th career goal in club football.
Ten Hag's Red Devils revolution is still a work in progress but he's finding ways to grind out results and another win here would pretty much secure a slot in the knockout stages of the UEFA Europa League.
Despite taking plaudits for their displays in narrow defeats against both United and Real Sociedad, Lennon's Omonia side sit bottom of Group E after three successive defeats.
Results have also been patchy in the Cypriot league, with Sunday's 1-0 loss at AEL Limassol leaving Omonia Nicosia sitting in sixth place, five points behind pace-setters Paphos.
How the bookies view it
Omonia Nicosia have been written off and they are as big as 40/1 with Ladbrokes. Even the draw pays a massive 10/1 at SBK while Manchester United's best price is just 2/17 at SportNation.
Head to head
Last week's clash was the first meeting of these sides but Omonia have faced English opposition in Europe before. They lost 4-2 on aggregate to Manchester City in the UEFA Cup in 2009 after a 6-1 aggregate loss to Arsenal in the Cup Winners' Cup back in 1994.
Players to watch
Ten Hag fielded pretty much a full-strength team in Cyprus but might rest a few players for this one ahead of a big Premier League game with Newcastle. Anthony Elanga could return in attack and the young Swede is 39/20 with Unibet for anytime scorer.
Karim Ansarifard caught the eye for Omonia Nicosia a week ago and the Iranian will be out to impress on the big Old Trafford stage. He's 13/2 with William Hill for anytime scorer.
Anything else catch the eye?
It's hard to find value on United as even betting on them winning both halves pays just 5/6 at Paddy Power. You have to back them at -3 in the handicap to get into odds-against territory at 23/10 with the same firm.
Backing Omonia players for cards might be a good idea as Manchester United will have most of the ball and pressure. Adam Lang was booked when they lost to Sociedad and is 15/8 at McBookie for a card at Old Trafford.
I can see Ten Hag's side winning the corner count convincingly so I'm backing them at -4 in that handicap, a bet that pays 6/5 with Bet365.
This UEFA Europa League match between Manchester United and Omonia Nicosia will be played on Oct 13, 2022 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Manchester United vs Omonia Nicosia prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
