A massive game on Thursday sees Manchester United host Barcelona in the Europa League. Tom Carnduff picks out his best bets.
Football betting tips: Europa League
2pts Over 9.5 corners at 6/5 (Unibet)
1.5pts Luke Shaw to have 1+ total shots at 11/8 (Sky Bet)
0.5pt Raphinha to score from outside the area at 16/1 (Sky Bet)
Given how entertaining the first leg was, it's fair to say that Manchester United welcoming Barcelona to Old Trafford is the highlight fixture of this European midweek.
Marcus Rashford's effort and an own goal from Jules Kounde fired Erik ten Hag's men into a 2-1 lead on the hour mark, having conceded just ten minutes earlier, before Raphinha's driven free-kick levelled things up ahead of the second meeting.
There's every reason to believe that this contest will provide the same level of action, with Barcelona's attacking strength coming up against this United side in great form in front of their own supporters.
Manchester United are back to their ways of not losing at Old Trafford. In fact, they rarely fail to win - Leeds being the only team to avoid defeat across the last 15 played at Old Trafford.
That outlines the size of this task for Barcelona. It would be daunting for them if they weren't eight points clear at the top of the La Liga table - conceding just seven across their 22 league contests.
Essentially, both sides will hold confidence that they can progress. It shouldn't become a game where either sit back and hope to snatch a 1-0 win.
With that in mind, we're taking the 6/5 best price on OVER 9.5 CORNERS.
Unsurprisingly, there were a total of 13 corners in the first leg, with Barcelona nearly covering this themselves as they took eight across the 90 minutes.
Game state is a key factor when it comes to corner betting and this one being finely balanced, with the potential for it to go either way, puts this market in a good position.
There will be periods of pressure from both sides as we saw last week, and the very real possibility of the home side trailing in the second-half adds further potential.
Even money and above is available across the board on the corner count hitting double figures, making it the main selection for this contest.
Focusing on the player markets, and there are a couple of names that catch the eye across the board.
One of those is Luke Shaw, who should return to left-back here after fluctuating between his natural position and a role in the centre of defence in recent weeks.
He featured at centre-back due to Lisandro Martinez's suspension in the first leg, but the Argentina defender should partner Raphaël Varane here allowing Shaw to shift to the left.
Considering that expected line-up, it's worth a play on the 11/8 price for SHAW 1+ TOTAL SHOTS.
This is just for a shot, it doesn't have to be on target. An effort that is classified as a shot will be enough for it to be labelled a winner.
Shaw has taken nine shots in the Premier League this season, meaning his average sits at 0.5 per game. However, all of those came in starts at left-back, meaning the average moves up slightly to 0.6.
Tyrell Malacia returned a shot in his start in the left-back role last week, and there is the potential for Marcus Rashford to return to his position down that side of the pitch.
That should keep the full-back occupied, and Shaw will have opportunities to break forward as we have seen throughout this season.
Finally, a long shot play that has caught the eye is the 16/1 available on RAPHINHA TO SCORE FROM OUTSIDE THE AREA.
This is something he achieved in the first leg, although that was a free-kick that avoided everyone before finding the back of the net.
However, that is a positive of lower, driven free-kicks. There is the potential for it to find the back of the net if the intended target fails to connect as Robert Lewandowski did.
Granted that most of his goals have come from inside the area, but Raphinha sees a high volume of shot attempts from distance.
Across La Liga, the Europa League and the Champions League this season, 53% of the winger's shots have come from outside the area - with a looping header on the boundary to secure three points against Osasuna in November.
Manchester United v Barcelona best bets and score prediction
- 2pts Over 9.5 corners at 6/5 (Unibet)
- 1.5pts Luke Shaw to have 1+ total shots at 11/8 (Sky Bet)
- 0.5pt Raphinha to score from outside the area at 16/1 (Sky Bet)
Score prediction: Manchester United 2-2 Barcelona (Sky Bet odds: 11/1)
Odds correct at 1715 GMT (21/02/23)
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