da 888casino： Today sees the return of the EFL Cup, with four Premier League sides due to do battle in the semi-finals.
da bet nacional： Southampton play hosts to Liverpool at St. Mary’s on Wednesday but before that, there’s the small matter of Hull City making the difficult trip to Old Trafford to face Manchester United this evening.
In truth, it’s difficult to tell how important this competition is in the minds of the respective managers.
Although Jose Mourinho would like to open his Old Trafford account with the first trophy available to him (barring that oversized 50 pence piece known as the Community Shield), his side are also involved in the Europa League and looking to claw their way back into the Premier League’s top four.
Likewise, whilst cup runs can provide a welcome distraction from relegation-threatened campaigns, Hull City find themselves rock bottom of the Premier League table ahead of tonight’s clash.
That certainly brings an air of unpredictability to the 8pm kickoff, with both managers likely prioritising other competitions, but we at FootballFanCast always like to be as prepared as possible.
With that in mind, here’s a rundown of everything you need to know pre-kick-off, including injury news, betting odds, likely starting XIs and much, much more!
Form, favourites and prior encounters
SKYBET oddsUnited win 1/5 – Draw 6/1 – Hull win 16/1
Safe to say, the bookies are backing the Red Devils for this one and it’s not hard to understand why. Indeed, the form guide is pretty much a no contest. United have won their last eight on the bounce across all competitions and are yet to suffer defeat since a shock Fenerbahce win at the start of November; Hull, meanwhile, have won just eight games all season – although new manager Marco Silva guided them to victory over relegation rivals Swansea City in the FA Cup on the weekend.
A look at their last six encounters, courtesy of Whoscored, doesn’t give the Tigers much cause for optimism either, losing five of the six and managing almost five times less the amount of goals as the 13-time Premier League champions. In fact, their last victory over the Red Devils – one of just five throughout their history – came all the way back in 1974.
Odds courtesy of SkyBet.
Injuries and suspensions
We’ll start with Hull City, purely due to the quantity of stars they could have on the sidelines tonight. Indeed, according to our mates at Physioroom, Marco Silva could have as many as eight players absent for his second game in charge, not least including centre-back duo Curtis Davies and Michael Dawson who, in terms of experience, would seem crucial in organising a rear-guard performance against Mourinho’s side. The other six potential absences are also a concern, especially when coupled with AFCON-absent duo Dieumerci M’Bokani and Ahmed Elmohamady.
Manchester United, on the other hand, boast almost a clean bill of health ahead of kick-off, with the exception of James Wilson (who started the season out on loan at Derby County anyway) and Marcos Rojo. The latter has performed beyond expectations so far this season but with Phil Jones and Chris Smalling also at his disposal, Mourinho has alternatives to fall back on at the heart of defence. Eric Bailly, however, is at AFCON with the Ivory Coast.
Likely starting XIs
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With the North West derby just around the corner on Sunday, it seems inevitable Jose Mourinho will make changes from the largely consistent starting XI (with the exception of the wide men) that has helped the Red Devils clinch eight wins on the bounce. Therefore, we’re expecting a line-up that essentially bridges between the weakened side that beat Reading 4-0 in the FA Cup’s third round and Mourinho’s strongest possible XI.
Michael Carrick is certain to be rested, which should see Ander Herrera partner Marouane Fellaini in the engine room, whilst Chris Smalling comes in for the injured Marcos Rojo alongside Jones and Zlatan Ibrahimovic returns up top, pushing the brace-bagging Marcus Rashford out wide. Perhaps our biggest call is Luke Shaw making his first appearance at left-back since November, but Mourinho won’t find many better opportunities to bring the England international back into the fold as we approach the business end of the season.
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In terms of Hull’s starting XI, Marco Silva’s hands are pretty much tied. Due to the aforementioned absences, any team he sticks out will be a question of what fits where – an ad hoc XI if you will. With that in mind, we’re tipping midfielder David Myler to slot in at left-back and Jake Livermore to move back from the engine room to the heart of defence. We’re also counting on Harry Maguire to overcome his slight doubt amid injuries to Dawson and Davies. However, in more pleasing news, a start for highly-rated youngster Josh Tymon could be in order, whilst striker Abel Hernandez also appears to be somewhere close to full fitness after scoring against Swansea City.
Word from the managers
Jose Mourinho on Marco Silva…
He is known in Portugal as one of the good young coaches. He went to Greece and nobody knows what he did there. Nobody knows he was a champion and now he comes to the big one. It’s a big opportunity for him so I hope he loses three matches and wins every [other] one.
“He was not given a top job immediately. He did well at a small club in Portugal then he went to Sporting, one of the top three. He won the cup, I think he finished second in the league then he goes to Greece and is champion with Olympiakos.
For me, he is very stable. In spite of being a young guy, he is very experienced and very mature and I look forward to having another Portuguese guy here.”
Marco Silva on tonight’s game:
“It’s about staying in the game, we try to bring it here and bring it back here open and qualify from the second game. That is our focus.
I know the club had problems before I came to the club, but I try to pass over the information what is the most important at the moment, we don’t have much time to work on the situation but I try to pass my ideas across.
Tomorrow is not the best game to try and improve but we will try because my players have a dream of playing in the final.”