Liverpool vs Man Utd FA Cup Betting

Liverpool’s reward for powering past League One outfit Oldham Athletic is a home tie against bitter rivals Manchester United, arguably the tie of the round. They will head into this game on the back of a morale-boosting aggregate victory over league leaders Manchester City in the Carling Cup, a win that ensures Liverpool make their first Wembley appearance since 1996. Despite Kop hero Kenny Dalglish bringing a significant improvement on results and performances, Liverpool remain inconsistent and even though they spent heavily, including £35 million on Andy Carroll, they sit an agonising 19 points off the top of the table. The Merseysider’s have struggled to regularly find the back of the net since losing Luis Suarez to an eight-match ban and he continues to miss out, meaning it’s again left to Craig Bellamy and the misfiring Carroll to lead the line. However, despite Liverpool’s inconsistency in the league, Dalglish will have them fired up for this game with cup competitions being their main chance of their first bit of silverware since their 2006 FA Cup win, nearly six years ago.

Manchester United – WWWLL

After two dismal consecutive losses against Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United, conceding three goals in each, Manchester United have responded in the best way possible; by winning their next three. Two of those were fine victories over fellow Premier League heavyweights Manchester City and Arsenal meaning they head into this match with confidence levels running high. These games have seen a timely return to form for England pair Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck, who will both be a major threat to the Liverpool defence.

Match Prediction: Draw – 3.20 William Hill

With Dalglish desperate to bring silverware to the Liverpool fans and Sir Alex Ferguson continuously dubbing the Liverpool Manchester United fixture as the “biggest game in the world”, both sides will be doing everything possible to claim victory. The sides met last January in the FA Cup, Dalglish’s first game in charge, when Manchester United claimed a 1 – 0 victory through a Ryan Giggs penalty. United edge the head to head record in more recent times, however they haven’t defeated Liverpool at Anfield since December 2007 and the home side will be hoping that run continues. It will certainly be a very close game, however United’s recent victories at Manchester City and Arsenal will leave them confident they can get a result at Anfield and if I were to pick a winner, the away team slightly edge it. Although given the circumstances, for me a draw seems a good prediction and good value at 3.20.

Article by Anthony Cunningham

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