Manchester United welcome Everton in the FA Cup on Friday evening and James Cantrill previews the game picking out a 13/2 best bet.
Football betting tips: FA Cup
1pt Demarai Gray anytime goalscorer at 13/2 (General)
The first full weekend of January sees England’s top 44 sides introduced for the FA Cup third round.
The proceedings commence in Manchester with an all Premier League affair between United and Everton, though the latter's days in the top flight may be numbered.
Brighton put four past them on their own patch on Tuesday, meaning their only positive result since the start of November came, somewhat ironically, at the Etihad.
The frustration at Goodison was palpable come full-time in midweek, and with patience running out for Frank Lampard he continues to be the odds-on favourite in the sack race.
With no news of his departure as I write, I am going to assume a decision will be made on Lampard's future after this fixture, placing huge significance on it.
The Toffees boss is not one for wholesale changes when it comes to this competition anyway, but with his job perhaps depending on a result, he should certainly field a strong XI here.
This should see DEMARAI GRAY feature from the off and at 13/2 his price to SCORE ANYTIME is simply too large, especially considering he is as short as 3/1 elsewhere.
Gray has found the net three times in his last five appearances, including a wonderful strike at the Etihad, a goal that salvaged a point and potentially Lampard's job.
The former Leicester man made it two in as many games against the Seagulls and the fact that goal came from the penalty spot obviously bodes well for this angle too.
In terms of offensive output, Gray tops his side's charts in almost every category - five goals (1st), 1.9 shots per game (1st), 0.8 dribbles (2nd), and 1.2 key passes per game (2nd).
It is worth noting that the Red Devils have won their last six games on the spin, and nine of their last 10 in all competitions, keeping seven clean sheets over that period.
Since 2018 though, half of the 12 all EPL FA Cup third-round matches have seen both teams score, with an average of 2.7 goals per game.
With so much riding on this game for Lampard, his side will have to get a result and if the Toffees can lay a glove on the hosts here, I suspect Gray will be involved in some capacity.
Manchester United v Everton best bet and score prediction
- Demarai Gray anytime goalscorer at 13/2 (bet365)
Score prediction: Manchester United 2-1 Everton (Sky Bet odds: 7/1)
Odds correct at 1330 GMT (04/01/23)
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