Manchester United v Atalanta: Back visitors to avoid defeat in entertaining affair

Manchester United 1.84/5 v Atalanta 4.67/2; The Draw 4.3100/30
Wednesday 20 October, 20:00
Live on BT Sport 2

Pressure rising on OGS

With just one win in the last five games, the pressure has once again been turned up high on Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. United were abject at Leicester in the 4-2 defeat on Saturday evening and the Norwegian is facing serious questions about his future.

Picking a clearly unfit Harry Maguire over Eric Bailly was one of many questionable decisions Solsjkaer made at the weekend and he will need to get the formation and selection right against an opponent who thrive on encounters with timid sides playing nervous football.

The Bergamaschi have yet to lose on their travels this season, with three wins and two draws on the road thus far in 2021/22. They head into the match as the current leaders in Group F and are the only side in that foursome that are yet to lose in this season's competition.

United did pick up a victory last time out in the Champions League against Villareal, thanks to a late, late winner from Ronaldo, but it was extremely fortunate with the Spaniards winning the Expected Goals battle by 2.72 to 1.23, so the hosts will need a much improved performance.

Expect entertainment

United may have struggled of late, but only Chelsea (22) have scored more Premier League goals than them, a tally of 16 in eight games underlining the attacking quality that Solskjaer's squad possesses.

It is a similar story for Gian Piero Gasperini's Atalanta, who have been among the top scoring teams in Serie A for the past five seasons. They have bagged 14 so far this season, seeing over 2.5 goals in each of their last four games and only failing to score in one match in all competitions so far this term.

By the same token, United have only failed to score twice so far this season.

No surprise then that Both Teams to Score is priced prohibitively at 1.558/15 with Over 2.5 Goals even shorter at 1.538/15 but given the approach of both sides, there's merit in pushing the boat out and backing Over 3.5 Goals at around 2.35/4.

Hard to back Red Devils

Given their recent travails, it's surprising to see United trading at heavy odds-on against the group leaders and 1.84/5 looks like an obvious lay, with Atalanta Double Chance a very decent 2.226/5 for those who prefer to place back bets.

With goals likely to be on the menu, we can use the Bet Builder to combine Atalanta/Draw and Over 3.5 Goals and get 4.38169/50 on the Sportsbook or go slightly more conservative and add in Over 2.5 Goals which still pays a healthy 3.27227/100