English Premier
2009-12-27 - Hull City vs Manchester United
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: England, Premier League
Sunday, 27th December 2009 - Kickoff 16:00
Hull City
An interesting set of results during Boxing Day meant that Hull have dropped a couple of places into the relegation zone before their game with the Champions of England.
Hull are sitting in 19th place in the Premier League but the League is beginning to tighten up at the bottom which means they are only a point away from the safety of 17th and only 5 points behind Sunderland in 10th position in the table. A bigger concern may be the - 17 goal difference which is effectively another point they will have to make up. Hull are 4-3-2 at home this season with 13 goals scored and 12 conceded.
The Tigers have failed to win any of their last 4 games and they have failed to score a goal in their last 3, coinciding with the loss of influential midfield player Jimmy Bullard.
Hull are unbeaten in their last 6 Premier League games at the KC Stadium. None of these games have come against sides in the top half of the table and Hull have only played Tottenham from the top half this season- they lost on that occasion 1-5.
Nick Barmby is the only new injury concern for Phil Brown.
Manchester United
Injuries have affected Manchester United in recent weeks, but it is only in their last few games where they have been exposed. Their 3-0 defeat last week at Fulham was one of the poorest displays by United in some time and Sir Alex Ferguson will demand a reaction this week.
Things could have been so much worse for United after they lost 2 of their last 3 League games but they remain in 2nd place in the Premier League and find themselves only 5 points behind Chelsea with this game to play. The Red Devils do not have an amazing away record this season where they are 5-0-4 with 18 goals scored and 9 conceded. United have lost the most away games in the top 6 so far this season.
They have lost 2 of their last 3 games as I mentioned above. The defeat at Fulham stopped a run of 3 consecutive away wins for United in which they had scored 11 goals and conceded 3. United have won 4 straight away games against sides in the bottom half of the table since the defeat at Burnley early in the season.
Fabio and Rafael da Silva have been rushed back to add further strength to the United backline. Nemanja Vidic is also expected to return to the side as well as Ryan Giggs. Wes Brown has an outside chance to make the bench but it is more likely that he will return for the game against Wigan on Wednesday night.
Head to Head
Manchester United won both home and away against Hull last season.
The game here finished 0-1 to United on a day when they rested many of their starters in anticipation of the Champions League Final.
Prediction
Hull City will be hoping to take advantage of a United team suffering from injuries but may have missed the boat on that front with the return of some defenders. They also do not have a striker like Bobby Zamora to affect this backline as he did for Fulham last weekend. Goals are going to be a problem for this side in this match.
Manchester United will know they have more than enough quality to win this match and will feel more confident with the return of some recognised defenders. United generally play well and win well when playing sides in the bottom half of the table and I do expect them to win this game.
I expect Manchester United to bounce back from their recent defeats and put the pressure back on Chelsea who play again on Monday. I also expect United to win this game by 2 goals or more.
The Pick :
Hull City 0-3 Manchester United
BEST BETTING TIP :
Take Manchester United to WIN
Gooner’s Statistical Value Bet
Manchester United -1.5 Asian Handicap
