WOLVES and Manchester United will collide in the FA Cup for the second consecutive season when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer takes his side to Molineux on Saturday evening.
The Red Devils crashed to a 2-1 quarter-final defeat at this venue last term and United will be looking avenge that loss by bouncing back from a disappointing 2-0 defeat away at Arsenal on New Year's day.
Prior to Wednesday nights setback at the Emirates, United had racked up six points against Newcastle and Burnley respectively, however, the festive period once again highlighted the inconsistencies that have plagued the Old Trafford outfit this season.
Nuno Espirito Santo's side ran Liverpool close last Sunday and then subsequently started 2020 with a 2-1 defeat away at Watford, however, Wolves mounted a fabulous comeback to crush Man City's title hopes last Friday night in a festive firecracker that finished 3-2.
The Wanderers continually prove to be a tough nut to crack for the “traditional top-six” and the hosts will fancy their chances against a United team who have failed to tame Wolves in four attempts following their promotion form the English Championship two seasons ago.
The Betting Odds
The bookmakers make Wolves 6/5 (Unibet) favourites to dump the Red Devils out of the FA Cup for the second year running and a Manchester United win is as high as 23/10 (UniBet) with the same firm.
FA Cup replays take place in rounds up to and including the fourth round and as such a draw in the Midlands would generate a rematch in Manchester – an outcome that is currently priced at 5/2 (Bet 365)
The Betting Angles
Given how congested each of these respective sides calendars have been in recent weeks, both managers may ring the changes on Saturday evening – Man United potentially even more so given that they have a massive midweek Manchester derby looming.
However, Wolves won't play again until the following weekend and Santo did take this competition seriously last season and with that in mind, we could see a strong Wolves starting XI and one which may include their man of the moment, namely, Adama Traore.
Traore's speed and physicality inspired Wolves to a 3-2 success against Man City at Molineux last Friday night and I like the look of the 10/11 (Bet 365) on offer for Traore to have at least one shot on target in this tussle.
The Wolves flying machine scored against the Citizens and he looked a threat throughout and the Wanderers winger has the tools to trouble what looks set to be an unfamiliar looking Red Devils rearguard.
In conjunction with that, I'm also attracted to the 10/3 (William Hill) that is available for United's young left-back Brandon Williams to pick up a card in this cup clash.
Williams has clocked four yellow cards in four Premier League starts this season and he looks overpriced to have his name taken again should he be given the thankless task of trying to tame Traore.
What's more, Solskjaer has also confirmed that his heavy injury list has been added to after some his squad were sent home from training on Friday morning suffering from flu like symptoms.
Therefore, given that Man United are set to take a patched up team to Molineux, coupled with their stop-start season, it's difficult to make a case for the Red Devils against a notoriously dangerous Wolves outfit.
Indeed, backing a home win appeals at 6/5 (UniBet) however, I'm going to take a slightly more conservative approach by utilizing Bet 365's Bet Builder feature by combing Wolves on the double chance, Wolves to score, over one card in the match and over four corner kicks to be taken at 4/6 (Bet 365) – a combination that would have banked profit in the last four meetings between these two sides.
This FA Cup match between Wolves and Man United will be played on Jan 4, 2020 and kick off at 17:31. Check below for our tipsters best Wolves vs Man United prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
