Bet of the Day: Manchester United v Roma: Expect goals at Old Trafford and a 7/2 Italian job

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United struggling while Roma are flying

Manchester United host Roma in the Champions League on Tuesday night, with the two sides arriving in vastly contrasting league form.

In the red corner, Man United are without a league win in seven. They have won just one of their opening nine league games (D4 - L4) and sit 16th in the Premier League table, level on points with Crystal Palace, who occupy a relegation berth.

In the white corner, Roma remain unbeaten in Serie A this season, winning seven and drawing three of their 10 league games. They currently sit third in the table, just one point behind the leaders, and boast the best goal difference (+18) in the Italian top flight.

In fact, Roma have lost just one game all season, a narrow defeat at home to Real Madrid in the Champions League after conceding three goals in the final seven minutes.

Away from home, Gian Piero Gasperini's side are unbeaten and seemingly score for fun, having netted three times at Napoli last week, four goals at Lecce at the start of the season and five at Udinese on Saturday.

In stark contrast, Michael Carrick's men are without a win in nine games in all competitions, the club's longest winless run in 38 years. Their only victories this season have come against newly promoted Ipswich and Champions League minnows Sabah.

United too short to back but I'm not willing to oppose them

As you can see from the odds in the graphic above, United are clear favourites in the Match Odds market at 5/42.25 (odds in graphic are real time odds and liable to change from when preview was first publihed), which I find surprising given the current form of both teams.

I was prepared to give Carrick's men a chance at Chelsea on Saturday, largely because I felt the positive vibes coming out of the club - clear-the-air talks, reports of excellent training sessions, etc. - might have a positive effect on their performance at Stamford Bridge.

And after an entertaining first 45 minutes, I felt justified in that thinking and believed United would go on to win the game. They missed some glorious opportunities to take the lead through Bruno Fernandes and Amad Diallo, but their second-half performance was dreadful.

While their first-half display was encouraging, it is alarming how tired the players appear to become, how easily they are out-run by opponents and how quickly their heads drop when things start going against them.

In truth, they looked on course for defeat well before Lisandro Martinez's moment of madness, which saw him concede a penalty and receive a second yellow card in the 63rd minute.

But while I couldn't back United with stolen money to win the match at 5/42.25, I'm reluctant to oppose them by backing Roma at 9/52.80 or the Draw at 3/14.00. There's still a nagging feeling that Carrick's men could produce some sort of reaction and deliver a much-improved performance.

Visitors can take advantage of United's crisis

Whatever the result, and however Manchester United perform, I feel there will be periods of this game when they struggle. Roma are a very good side, as evidenced by their league position, current form and goalscoring record, particularly away from home.

Gasperini's men have scored at least three goals in more than half of their games this season, and have netted three or more in five of their last six matches, including against Real Madrid and away at Napoli.

I have a feeling they can take advantage of United's current crisis and score two or three goals at Old Trafford on Tuesday night, in what could be a thrilling encounter.

I'm expecting some sort of fight from the hosts, with the home faithful likely to rally behind them. I wouldn't be surprised if United score a few goals themselves, but I simply don't think they are good enough to keep the Italian side at bay.

This has the potential to be a high-scoring clash, so I wouldn't put anyone off backing Over 3.5 Goals at 13/102.30, or even Over 4.5 Goals at 16/54.20, but my main, and only, bet of the game will be Roma to score at least three goals at 7/24.50.

All three prices above reflect my belief that Roma can exploit United's current problems and score freely, while an improved performance from the hosts could see them contribute a few goals of their own.

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