Can the Cypriots make it exciting again?
With zero points and 3:8 goals, Omonia Nicosia occupy the last place in Group E of the Europa League. The reigning Cypriot Cup winners surprisingly led Manchester United 1-0 at the break a week ago, but were beaten 3-2 in the end. The Green-Whites’ chances of progressing have thus shrunk to a minimum.
It is clear that the Cypriots have to win something at Old Trafford if they want to keep their chances of third place alive. However, Neil Lennon’s side travel to Old Trafford as heavy underdogs when Manchester United face Omonia Nicosia with the odds swinging clearly in the Red Devils’ favour.
Manchester United, however, have had a mixed season so far. The English record champions have won five of their eight Premier League games, but have also suffered three defeats. Internationally, too, the results have been rather close, which is why we don’t expect the Green-Whites to go down to defeat at Old Trafford.
That’s why we are betting on Manchester United against Omonia Nicosia with an Asian handicap of +2.5. After all, the Red Devils have not won any of their competitive matches in the 2022/23 season by more than a two-goal difference.
Manchester United – Statistics & current form
Manchester United, as 20-time English champions and one of the few clubs to have won all three of UEFA’s historic European Cup competitions – the Champions League, Europa League and European Cup Winners’ Cup – naturally have aspirations of playing in the top flight.
Consequently, after the sixth place of the previous season, which only entitled them to participate in the Europa League, the team underwent a major reorganisation. Erik ten Hag was brought in as the new coach and with him, the equivalent of 240 million euros in transfer fees alone was invested in new personnel.
So far, three defeats in the first eight league games
With these expenses in mind, the interim result for the English record champions is truly not too rosy. In the Europa League, United are only in second place after a 1-0 home defeat against Real Sociedad, and in the Premier League there have already been three defeats in the first eight match days.
There have been strong performances, such as the 2-1 home win over Liverpool and the 3-1 win over league leaders Arsenal. However, the loss of the Manchester derby in particular, when the Red Devils were 4-0 down to Manchester City at the break (final score: 3-6), reverberates and ensures that things remain unsettled behind the scenes.
Won three of last four competitive games
After all, the English record champions avoided another setback last week when they turned a 1-0 interval deficit into a 3-2 away win in Cyprus. In fact, the Red Devils have now won three of their last four competitive matches, although they did have to overturn a 1-0 deficit again last weekend in a 2-1 win away at Everton.
Consequently, the Red Devils are clear favourites in this home match.
Predicted Manchester United line-up:
De Gea – Malacia – Martínez – Lindelöf – Dalot – Eriksen – Casemiro – Sancho – Fernandes – Antony – Ronaldo
Last matches played by Manchester United:
Europa League Grp. E
14/10/2022 – Manchester United 1 – 0 Omonia Nicosia
Premier League
10/10/2022 – Everton 1 – 2 Manchester United
Europa League Grp. E
06/10/2022 – Omonia Nicosia 2 – 3 Manchester United
Premier League
02/10/2022 – Manchester City 6 – 3 Manchester United
Europa League Grp. E
15/09/2022 – FC Sheriff 0 – 2 Manchester United
Omonia Nicosia – Statistics & current form
Athletic Club Omonia Nicosia is one of the most successful clubs in the country, having won 21 national championships. Recently, however, the Queen, as the club is also called, did not experience good times.
After winning the last championship title to date in the summer of 2021, the Green-Whites only finished seventh in the final table at the end of the 2021/22 season – their worst position in 64 years. Only by winning the national cup for the 15th time overall did the capital city side still make it into an international competition.
Last in group with zero points and 3:8 goals
However, there hasn’t been much to get for the Queen in the Europa League so far. Already on the first matchday, the Green-Whites went down 0:3 against the comparatively most feasible opponent Sheriff Tiraspol, before the games against Real Sociedad (1:2) and Manchester United (2:3) were close but also brought defeats in the end.
With zero points from the first three games, the chances of surviving the winter in the Europa League are practically non-existent. If they want to continue in the Conference League in third place, they need points against the other teams in Group E for the comparison with Tiraspol.
Lost five of their last seven competitive games
Much more serious than their international performance, however, is the fact that the Green-Whites have once again failed to impress at domestic level, finishing in sixth place with nine points out of a possible 18 from their first six league games.
On Monday, Queen’s fluffed their dress rehearsal in a 1-0 away defeat in Limassol. In total, Neil Lennon’s eleven have thus lost five of their last seven competitive matches. Manchester United’s betting on a point for the Cypriots against Omonia Nicosia is correspondingly ill-starred.
Predicted line-up of Omonia Nicosia:
Fabiano – Lecjaks – Lang – Yuste – Miletic – Matthews – Barker – Charalambous – Diskerud – Ansarifard – Bruno
Last matches played by Omonia Nicosia:
Europa League Grp. E
14/10/2022 – Manchester United 1 – 0 Omonia Nicosia
1st League
10/10/2022 – AEL Limassol 1 – 0 Omonia Nicosia
Europa League Grp. E
06/10/2022 – Omonia Nicosia 2 – 3 Manchester United
1st League
01/10/2022 – Doxa Katokopia 0 – 2 Omonia Nicosia
18/09/2022 – Omonia Nicosia 4 – 0 Enosis Paralimni
Manchester United – Omonia Nicosia Direct comparison / H2H record
Head to head: 1 – 0 – 0
Last Thursday’s first leg was the only meeting between the two teams so far. The Red Devils thus lead the direct comparison with the 3:2 away win.
Manchester United – Omonia Nicosia Tip
The prediction for the second leg between Manchester United and Omonia Nicosia also goes clearly in the direction of the English record champions, who were not really convincing against the Cypriot underdogs a week ago and have also fluffed many a time in the 2022/23 season. For the Cypriots, moreover, it is probably the last chance to preserve their minimal chances of surviving the winter in Europe with a point win.
Betting on the Green-Whites with an Asian handicap of +2.5 covers most eventualities. After all, United have not won any of their last 13 competitive matches by more than a two-goal difference.
