Man Utd v West Ham: Hosts set to sail through
Published:West Ham’s inability to see out stoppage time with their one-goal advantage over Manchester United intact has all but ended their participation in this season’s FA Cup, or so their odds of victory at Old Trafford in the third round replay suggest.
A price of 8/1 is on offer for the Hammers to win at Old Trafford in 90 minutes, while the 11/2 for them to progress to the fourth round via extra-time or penalties isn’t something to draw confidence from either.
United are available as short as 3/10 to win the match in regulation time and the stats suggest that any bet in opposition to this will be a wasted one.
West Ham have been beaten on each of their previous four visits to the Theatre of Dreams in all competitions and have not managed a single goal in that period, including a 1-0 reverse in late-November.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s side’s charge to the Premier League title has seen them win eight domestic games on the spin on their own patch and a home win to nil has plenty of appeal at 5/4.
A bet that the same cannot be said of is the 5/2 dictating that Robin van Persie will open the scoring in this clash.
He may have notched five in his last four appearances against the Hammers, but it’s unlikely Sir Alex will employ his services from the off in this cup game, with him more likely to keep him in reserve in case of emergency akin to their drawn clash in the third round proper.
The Dutchman is equally priced to net last, but with United expected to cruise in front of their own fans, it’s unlikely he’ll be called upon so steer clear of his name in player markets.
A far superior alternative is for there to be a goal scored in the closing stages of the game. There have been three goals notched in the final 15 minutes in each of the previous three renewals between these two teams, which makes the 11/10 on offer for there to be just one this time around well worth an investment.
All odds and markets accurate as of publication’s time and date
