Cambridge v Manchester United Betting: Three odds against bets in the side markets

Former Barcelona keeper Victor Valdes is set to make his Manchester United debut in the FA Cup tie at Cambridge

Cambridge play Manchester United in the FA Cup on Friday night and Neil Monnery has picked out three good bets at odds against prices on the Betfair exchange...

Cambridge Utd v Man Utd
Friday 23rd January, 19:55
Live on BBC 1

Regular betting.betfair football tipster Jaymes Monte has previewed Cambridge v Manchester United betting tips, but I'm here to have a look at a few of the other markets that Betfair are offering on this rare terrestrial Friday night football feast we are being treated to this weekend.

Both Teams To Score?

In the last round Manchester United limped through to defeat Yeovil in what was a distinctly lacklustre display. A wonder goal from Ander Herrera put the Premier League side ahead before Angel di Maria sealed the win with a late breakaway strike. The Red Devils have scored in eight of their last 10 games and most would expect them to score on Friday night.

This means the big question is whether Cambridge will find the back of the net. It is expected that Victor Valdes will be between the sticks for Louis van Gaal's men and while he has been a terrific goalkeeper for many years, he hasn't played a competitive fixture since March 26 last year, and he's never played for Manchester United.

Valdes is sure to be a bit rusty and he'll have nerves, and Cambridge have averaged 2.72 goals/game at home this season. The home side will ensure the debutant keeper picks the ball out of the back of his net at least once.

Penalty Taken?

Neither side have had an abundance of spot kicks this season but there are two reasons to believe that Chris Foy will point to the penalty spot at some point during this game. Once again I'll throw the rust of Valdes out there. The defence won't have confidence in him and we don't know how the communication will be between the back line and the goalkeeper.

On the other side of the ledger, you'd expect towards the end of the game the Cambridge defenders to be both mentally and physically tired. This could lead to lazy challenges and when you have the speed and skill levels of players like James Wilson and Di Maria, a clumsy foul in the box is always a possibility.

Over/Under 4.5 cards?

Foy is the referee on Friday night and he has averaged 3.89 cards a game so far this season. He has refereed one evening cup tie so far this term however and he showed eight yellow cards and one red at Bramall Lane for the Sheffield United v Southampton game.

The Cambridge players as we've already noted will have very high energy levels for as long as they can keep them up, they'll nibble and close down the visitors and if Foy books one early then he'll set the tone that will set up a potentially card busy night for the 52-year-old official.

Recommended Bets
Back YES in Both Teams To Score? at 2.35/4
Back YES in Penalty Taken? at 3.613/5
Back Over in Over/Under 4.5 cards? at 2.56/4