Manchester United vs Juventus
The moment Manchester United fans have been dreaming of, for almost a decade, is nearly here. Cristiano Ronaldo is about to grace the Theatre of Dreams once more.
Trouble is, he’s playing for Juventus in the big Champions League fixture of the week. Red Devils’ fans get all misty-eyed when they talk of CR7, with memories of his gleaming smile, his shining six pack and, of course, his brilliant free kicks! They have readily forgiven the fact that he looked a little sulky in his last few weeks in Manchester, before his big money move to Madrid.
He’s right up there as one of Manchester United’s greats, along with George Best, Eric Cantona and David Beckham, and he is always the big Champions League 2018 news.
But times have changed and it’s Ronaldo’s new club that can win the tournament according to Champions League 2018 odds, installed as third favourites behind Manchester City and Barcelona, and odds-on to win Group H.
Talking Points
Ronny is available to play having been handed a single match ban for his hair-pulling escapade against Valencia in Juventus’ opening Champions League fixture. And he’s been in the headlines again this weekend, notching his 400th goal in Europe’s top leagues, but his strike wasn’t enough to prevent Genoa ending the Bianconeri’s perfect start to the season.
Red legend gives the current team a swift kick
Former Manchester United midfield ace Paul Scholes has been openly critical of his former employers recently, turning his fire on Mourinho’s most expensive recruits, Romelu Lukaku and Paul Pogba. Lukaku looked completely immobile in the first half of this weekend’s game against Chelsea, while Pogba has struggled to replicate his World Cup form, spending too much time telling anyone who will listen how unsure he is of his future. But he did score twice in the Red Devils opening win against Young Boys.
Ronaldo, a former teammate of Scholes, has warned Manchester United’s owners not to be too trigger happy as rumours continue to fly around Salford over Jose Mourinho’s job security.
And the Red Devils have shown more fight over the past couple of games, roaring back from a two-goal deficit to beat Newcastle, and then drawing with Chelsea in a pulsating match at Stamford Bridge. Jose was involved in an unseemly fracas when the Blues’ equaliser went in, but he seemed in much better humour after the game.
Some of his young guns have impressed. Anthony Martial scored two, the second a beauty, as United stepped up their game in the second 45 minutes at the Bridge and wingback Luke Shaw is ever improving and been rewarded with a new £50m deal to keep him at Old Trafford.
The Bianconeri have multiple threats
Shaw and his fellow defenders are in for a busy night. English football fans will know the threat of Mario Mandzukic all too well—the big striker scored the killer goal for Croatia which put the Three Lions out of the World Cup. And he has carried his form through to the league, recently scoring a brace as the Bianconeri beat title rivals Napoli.
Meanwhile, Paulo Dybala already has three Champions League goals. The fans will be at Old Trafford to see Ronaldo, but Jose will have his players ready for a wider threat.
History
Over 70,000 fans will pack the stadium to see two of Europe’s aristocracy, Manchester United, for so long the dominant force in the Premier League and Juventus the undisputed kings of Italian football.
The Red Devils have won more Champions Leagues, with three to Juve’s two, but the Italians have been very close recently, losing finalists in 2015 and 2017. And they come into this game in the better form.
Manchester United have won two in the last seven, while Juventus have six victories—a run ended by the 1-1 home draw with Genoa this weekend.
Manchester United have won three of the four meetings between these two, the last being a 0-0 draw back in a 2008 friendly. But, under the tutelage of Sir Alex Ferguson, the Red Devils beat Juventus 5-1 on aggregate in the 2003 Champions League.
Betting Tip
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Manchester United vs Juventus | Total Goal 2-3 @ 1.90 |
| October 24, 03:00 (GMT+8) |
Juventus is favourite to win at Old Trafford with SBOBET odds of 2.23, while Manchester United is at 3.30 and the draw 3.15.
I think there will be goals and Over 2.50 is available at a good price of 2.12, with unders at 1.79. The most likely scoreline, though, is 1-1 at 5.40.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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