Middlesbrough vs Man Utd Preview, Team News, Line-Ups, Betting Tips & Prediction

Manchester United will be looking to continue their push for the top four when they take on Middlesbrough at the Riverside on Sunday afternoon.

The Red Devils are coming towards the end of a hectic period that’s seen them battling it out in four separate competitions in recent weeks but Jose Mourinho will be looking for one last push before the international break.

United crashed out of the FA Cup at Chelsea last Monday but they booked their place in the quarter finals of the Europa League with a narrow 2-1 aggregate win over Rostov on Thursday night.

The Manchester giants currently sit seventh in the table after Everton moved up to sixth today but they can climb above Arsenal and to within just three points of fourth-placed Liverpool with a win tomorrow.

United should be confident of doing so as they’ll be up against a ‘Boro side who sit 19th in the division and are currently without a manager after Aitor Karanka was dismissed last week following a run of 10 league games without a win. Head coach Steve Agnew will take charge this weekend.

Team news

United will be without the suspended Zlatan Ibrahimovic as he continues to serve his three-game ban so Marcus Rashford is expected to lead the line up front.

Ander Herrera is also suspended following his sending off at Chelsea while Paul Pogba has been ruled out with a hamstring injury sustained in Europe last week.

Daley Blind is also a doubt while Wayne Rooney will be assessed after missing the last two games with a knee injury. Anthony Martial will be hoping to be back in the squad after returning to light training.

As for ‘Boro, they will hand late fitness tests to Bernardo Espinosa and Rudy Gestede but George Friend (calf), Daniel Ayala (hamstring) and Calum Chambers (foot) remain unavailable.

Likely Line-Ups

Predicted Score

Middlesbrough 0-2 Man Utd: The hosts form has been woeful in recent weeks so Agnew needs a response from the players following Karanka’s sacking. United will no doubt be feeling the effects of their gruelling schedule but they have the squad to cope with it and despite some key players being missing, I fancy Mourinho’s men to come away with all three points.

Betting Tips

United are the 6/10 favourites with the bookies but we can get new customers enhanced odds of 7/1 for a United win – just click here to take advantage of these crazy odds [winnings as free bet, T&C’s apply].

Here are some other bets I like the look of:

• Both teams to score NO at: 8/11 – a £10 bet would return £17.20
• Exact score of 2-0 United at: 6/1 – a £10 bet would return £70
• Rashford to score first in a 2-0 United win at: 16/1 – a £10 bet would return £170