So Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s supposed interim stint in charge of Manchester United just continues to gather pace on the back of an 8 game win streak including wins over top 4 rivals Tottenham and Arsenal (FA Cup) in their 2 most recent games.
As the club prepare for a potential banana skin when they face Burnley tonight at Old Trafford, fans and pundits alike are beginning to wonder just what United can achieve this season. It will be interesting to see if OGS rotates his starting XI tonight and gives the likes of Juan Mata whose contract talks have stalled, Alexis Sanchez or Romelu Lukaku another place in the starting line-up.
Pundit Mark Lawrenson on the BBC is predicting a 2-0 United win which sounds about right as the Clarets are in a relegation dogfight and are always a serious opponent as they have proven over their recent years in the Premier League.
United were 4th favourites for the FA Cup available at 9-1 with Betway before they played Arsenal and now that they have knocked the Gunners out of the competition and Tottenham were surprised by Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, OGS’s side are now 3rd favourites to win the FA Cup and have shortened substantially to odds of 11/2 with several bookies.
Given the form of Marcus Rashford it is hard to see Solskjaer not starting the England international upfront tonight vs Sean Dyches’ always tough to beat Burnley side. Fantasy football and Football Index players who own Rashford will be rejoicing at the appointment of the Norwegian as the value of the starlet has soared since he has had a run in the side as the starting centre-forward.
Apart from Rashford, other United players like Lingard and Herrera have also benefitted not only on the field from OGS taking charge but also for those punters who have used the football index referral code to buy them as though they were an asset on the stock market or those who have them in their fantasy side or indeed those who like to bet on Rashford as the first goal scorer. Surprisingly Rashford is only 3rd favourite to be the first scorer tonight so a value bet might be had with his odds at 22/5.
Many fans will also be liking United’s chances of beating PSG in the Champions League as Goal.com have reported today now that Neymar has injured his foot and may well miss both legs of the knockout round vs United, bookies like William Hill have slashed the Red-Devils’ odds from 12/5 to 13/8 to progress.
Indeed United as 10th favourites are a great outside bet at 28/1 with Betway to win the Champions League outright given their red-hot form under OGS. So while the focus must be getting the win tonight vs Burnley it is understandable that fans and punters alike are dreaming of silverware given the form of the team since the United legend took charge just before Christmas.