League Cup Semi-final Preview – Manchester United vs Hull City
January 10, 2016 20:00pm
Old Trafford
Recent Form (All Competitions):
Manchester United: WWWWW
Hull City: WLDLL
After a weekend of FA Cup action, the hunt for silverware continues on Tuesday night as the two-legged League Cup semi-finals get underway. In the first game, four-time former winners Manchester United will take on first-time semi-finalists Hull City at Old Trafford.
United cruised through their FA Cup third round match against Reading at the weekend (4-0) but may find the going a little tougher over two legs against Premier League opposition. The Red Devils come into this game on the back of a 14-game unbeaten streak in all competitions, having won their last eight in a row. They will also be defending an unbeaten home record that also stretches back 14 games, with their last loss coming at home to Manchester City (1-2) back in September.
Jose Mourinho’s men have won this tournament on four previous occasions, with their last triumph coming back in 2010. However in recent years they have been dumped out by the likes of Middlesbrough, MK Dons and Sunderland.
The home team will have to cope without the injured trio of Marcos Rojo, James Wilson and Luke Shaw, while Eric Bailly is away on African Cup of Nations duty.
Meanwhile, opponents Hull City have never reached the semi-final stage of this competition before. Their previous best performance was a quarter-final appearance last season. However, they did reach the final of the FA Cup back in 2014.
New Coach Marcos Silva began his reign with a 2-0 win over Swansea City in the FA Cup, in which he guided his team to their first clean sheet in 23 matches.
The Tigers have lost Dieumerci Mbokani and Ahmed Elmohamady to the African Cup of Nations and will also have to make do without several injured players including Curtis Davis, Will Keane, Greg Luer, Brian Lenihan, Moses Odubajo and Alex Bruce. Michael Dawson is also a doubt, having been withdrawn during the Swansea game with a shoulder issue.
Prediction
Marco Silva had a positive impact in his first game in charge but this game will provide a much tougher test for his charges. With such a depleted squad, it may be a case of limiting the damage in the first leg and hoping that they are still in with a chance when the teams reconvene for the second leg in 16 days’ time.
As a result, United can be expected to dominate the possession but the result could still be close. With value hard to find, the winning margin market could be worth looking at.
United can be backed to win by two goals at 29/10 with Betfair and to win by one goal at 16/5 – also with Betfair. An equal stake on each bet would yield a profit if either outcome is correct.