Capital One Cup preview and odds: Manchester United vs. Middlesbrough

Published on: 26/10/2015

Capital One Cup preview and odds: Manchester United vs. Middlesbrough

October 28, 2015 20:00pm - Old Trafford

League Cup

Manchester United get to play a second tier club at home for the second game running when they host Middlesbrough in the Capital One Cup on Wednesday night.

United enjoy home advantage again

Louis van Gaals men cruised past Championship side Ipswich Town by three goals to nil in the last round and now face another Championship side at Old Trafford. The Red Devils have lost just one of their last eight games in all competitions and will be confident of progressing to the next stage of the League Cup on Wednesday.

The four-time winners are looking for their first triumph in this tournament since they beat Aston Villa at Wembley back in 2010. They come into this game on the back of two draws after a Champions League stalemate in Moscow and a goalless derby game against Manchester City.

Middlesbrough aiming to make their presence felt

Middlesbrough will be cheered on by their largest away contingent since 1992 (via Gazettelive) when they visit Old Trafford on Wednesday. A total of 10,000 fans will make the journey south for the Capital One Cup clash against the 20-time league champions.

The Boro are in buoyant mood following a strong start to the season under Basque Coach Aitor Karanka. An away win against Wolverhampton at the weekend has left them fourth in the Championship table just five points behind leaders Brighton and Hove Albion.

This game will be fourth in this years League Cup campaign and the third that they have played away from home. The northeast club won their one and only League Cup under Steve McClaren back in 2004. They also reached the final in consecutive seasons between 1996 and 1998.

Team news

The home side are likely to be without Antonio Valencia after the winger limped out of Sundays game against their city neighbours.

Midfielder Albert Adomah picked up an injury at the weekend and is a doubt for Boro.

Recent form (All competitions)

Manchester United: DDWLW

Middlesbrough: WLDLW

Betting odds and tips

Man Utd are back in the hunt for the Premier League title and still have a great chance of making the knockout stages of the Champions League. As a result, this fixture may not feature high on their list of priorities and Louis van Gaal will be expected to field a second string team against Boro.

Meanwhile, the Championship side are taking this game very seriously and will enjoy the vocal support of 10,000 travelling fans. But can they cheer their team on to victory? The bookies don´t think so and will give you up to 8/1 on an away win in 90 minutes (Betfred) or 11/2 for Boro the qualify by any means on the night (with Betway). At those prices, it could be worth speculative punt.

Published on: 26/10/2015

Any odds displayed within this preview were correct at the time of publishing (26/10/2015 14:35:55) but are subject to change.