Man United v Wigan Betting Tips: Low-key affair expected at Old Trafford

This FA Cup Fourth Round tie looks like a rather mismatched affair with Champions League chasing, and recent EFL League Cup Final qualifiers, Man United hosting Championship strugglers Wigan Athletic.

United may have reached the EFL League Cup final on Thursday night but it was only on an aggregate score as they finally lost their 17-match unbeaten run by losing 2-1 to fellow Premier League side Hull City. Thankfully for them, the 2-0 victory from the first leg was enough to see them reach Wembley. This defeat now means that United have not won any of their last three matches in all competitions.

Prior to this rather poor run of results, Jose Mourinho’s side were looking good at both ends of the pitch as they were keeping clean sheets (three in a row) whilst also taking their multitude of chances in the final third. This obviously made pretty good going but it now seems that the Red Devils have somewhat lost their spark, as shown by the fact they have scored just three and conceded four in their last three matches, which must be found again quickly if they are to achieve their targets this season.

Fortunately, one thing that United can rely on is home form and, whilst their recent 1-1 draw against Liverpool at Old Trafford put an abrupt end to their six-match winning streak, they have lost just one competitive match on home soil this season and even that came all the way back in September.

Although I have described Wigan as a struggling team given the fact they are currently only outside the Championship relegation zone on goal difference, The Lactics have been on an exceptional run lately having won their last three games on the bounce in all competitions whilst they have only lost once in their last five.

Warren Joyce’s side have been defensively sound for pretty much the whole season so far as proved by the fact they have conceded just 32 goals in 27 league matches – a better record than a few teams in the top-10 – and this recent run of victories has included two clean sheets.

Unfortunately though, despite having the on-fire Will Grigg in the team, Wigan are desperately struggling in front of goal and are the Championship’s lowest scorers having found the back of the net a rather inadequate 24 times. However, Joyce will be pleased by the fact that they have scored six goals in their last three games.

One of those wins came in a vital match away at fellow relegation strugglers Burton Albion which stretched the Lactics’ unbeaten away record to two – pretty good for a relegation candidate. In fact, prior to a couple of defeats on the road, Wigan had been pretty good away from the DW Stadium having not lost in four games.

As always with cup ties, especially ones involving the big clubs, a lot depends on what team will be selected. Mourinho, in rather clichéd fashion, says he values the competition but I still expect him to rotate his squad here given the fact they have an important Premier League match against Hull City on Wednesday night.

With this in mind, I doubt United will be at their attacking best and, with Wigan pretty good at the back, I am expected this to be tougher for the United than most expect. I am not saying they will lose but I think they may get a bit frustrated during the course of the tie.

As it is likely to be a game of few goals, ‘2-3 Total Goals’, at 5/4, is the best option. There’s plenty of reason to think both could carry an attacking threat, but a particularly high-scoring game doesn’t seem likely.

See more tips here.