Do the Red Devils redeem themselves internationally?
Omonia Nicosia have made the worst possible start to their Europa League Group E campaign with two defeats and 1:5 goals. The Cypriot cup winners even lost their home match against Sheriff Tiraspol and are now in the red. Now, of all times, heavyweights Manchester United are guests at the GSP Stadium.
The Red Devils, however, travel to Cyprus with a chip on their shoulder. On Sunday, Erik ten Hag’s men suffered a heavy 6-3 away defeat in the Manchester derby at the Etihad Stadium. Anything less than an emphatic away win at the GSP Stadium would be another disappointment for the English record champions. Accordingly, the odds on Omonia Nicosia against Manchester United are clearly in favour of the visitors.
After their opening defeat against Real Sociedad, the Red Devils won the away game at Sheriff Tiraspol 2-0, so there is no alternative to betting that United will now be able to improve on their performance in Cyprus.
The question is how to bet on an away win for the visitors in Omonia Nicosia against Manchester United with the greatest possible value. We opt for a bet on the Red Devils to win by at least two goals difference.
This would also underline the role of Erik ten Hag’s men as favourites, which they also hold overall in this competition.
Omonia Nicosia – Statistics & current form
Athletic Club Omonia Nicosia is one of the country’s absolute flagships. The Queen, as the club is also called, has won the national championship 21 times. In addition, they have won 15 cups.
That 15th triumph in the national cup was also what led the Green-Whites into the Europa League this summer. In the Protathlima Cyta, the capital city side ultimately only finished in a disappointing seventh place in the final table.
Last in group after two defeats with 1:5 goals
Under Northern Ireland coach Neil Lennon, the start to the 2022/23 season has also been anything but smooth. In the Europa League play-offs, the Green and Whites defeated Belgian first division side KAA Gent 4-0 in the first and second legs. In the league, however, they lost two of their first three games.
Add to that the two defeats in the Europa League group stage, and Queen’s have lost four of their five consecutive competitive matches in just two and a half weeks.
Lost all four international must-win matches against Premier League clubs
Lately, however, there has been at least a bit of a boost for the 21-time national champions in the Protathlima Cyta, where they have won their last two league games for a total of 6-0 goals. As a result, the Green-Whites have climbed back up to fourth place.
However, in view of the fact that they have lost every single one of their four matches against English clubs so far, there is little to be gained against the English record champions.
Predicted line-up of Omonia Nicosia:
Fabiano – Kitsos – Panagiotou – Yuste – Miletic – Psaltis – Diskerud – Bachirou – Cassama – Ansarifard – Loizou
Last matches played by Omonia Nicosia:
1st League
01/10/2022 – Doxa Katokopia 0 – 2 Omonia Nicosia
18/09/2022 – Omonia Nicosia 4 – 0 Enosis Paralimni
Europa League Grp. E
15/09/2022 – Real Sociedad 2 – 1 Omonia Nicosia
1st League
11/09/2022 – Apollon Limassol 2 – 1 Omonia Nicosia
Europa League Grp. E
09/09/2022 – Omonia Nicosia 0 – 3 FC Sheriff
Manchester United – Statistics & current form
Manchester United are not only the English record champions with 20 league titles, but also an absolute heavyweight internationally. The Red Devils have won the European Champion’s Cup and the Champions League three times. Added to this is the most recent triumph in the Europa League, which they won for the first time in the summer of 2017.
Last season, however, things didn’t go too well for MUFC under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick, who only finished sixth in the end and missed out on qualification for the top flight. Accordingly, they had set their sights high for the new season.
UUFC under pressure after opening defeat against Real Sociedad
In terms of transfer fees alone, the Red Devils invested around 250 million euros in new personnel. In addition, they brought in Erik ten Hag, a renowned coach of world calibre. The interim result so far is all the more disappointing.
In the Europa League, only three out of six points were scored, with the English record champions being outplayed by Real Sociedad at home in Old Trafford. United thus failed to live up to their role as favourites in this competition.
Lost three of first seven Premier League games
Meanwhile, the Premier League has already lost three of its first seven league games, with the lowest point undoubtedly coming on Sunday. The Red Devils went down 6-3 to city rivals Manchester City in the Manchester derby, with summer transfer target Cristiano Ronaldo languishing on the bench for the entire 90 minutes.
Erik ten Hag may well rotate hard in this away game in Cyprus and also use CR7, who has always been in the starting eleven in this competition so far. The frustration of the English record champions could be correspondingly high, which is why the betting on an away win with a two-goal difference at Omonia Nicosia against Manchester United is promising.
Predicted Manchester United line-up:
De Gea – Malacia – Martínez – Varane – Dalot – Eriksen – McTominay – Sancho – Fernandes – Antony – Ronaldo
Last matches played by 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
09/09/2022 – Manchester United 0 – 1 Real Sociedad
Premier League
04/09/2022 – Manchester United 3 – 1 FC Arsenal
02/09/2022 – Leicester 0 – 1 Manchester United
Omonia Nicosia – Manchester United Direct comparison / H2H record
Never before there has been an international match between both teams. There is therefore no “H2H” data available to factor into the prediction for Omonia Nicosia vs Manchester United
Omonia Nicosia – Manchester United bet
Manchester United are one of the teams that can be expected to win the Europa League overall. After all, the Red Devils already won this competition in the 2016/17 season, so the role of favourite is clearly assigned to the English record champions, who also have a lot to make up for after losing the Manchester derby. It seems hard to imagine that United will stumble at the bottom of Group E.
The only question is how tip 2 can be modified to increase the value. Since the Red Devils already won 2-0 away from home in Transnistria, we are betting on another win with at least a two-goal difference.
