EPL Betting – Newcastle vs. Manchester United
Newcastle (+320) vs. Manchester United (+100) (Draw +250)
Manchester United have recovered from their thoroughly mediocre start to the 2014-15 Premier League season and currently sit fourth in the table. But the team remains in a neck-and-neck battle for the final Champions League spot and will need to pick up points, both home and away, down the stretch in order to hold onto it.
Tomorrow, the Red Devils take the next step in that quest when they travel to St. James’ Park to face Newcastle (1:45 p.m. Eastern).
In the moneyline, United are +100 favorites while Newcastle are +320 home underdogs; the draw is at +250.
United are also a one-goal favorite in the handicap.
Newcastle are not having a great season, but they have lost just one home game by multiple goals: 0-2 to league-leading Chelsea in the first game of the season. Similarly, away from Old Trafford, United have won by two goals just once.
That said, Newcastle have really struggled against Manchester United in recent history. The Magpies are just 2-5-17 against Man U in their last 24 EPL matches. They have also failed to score in three of their last four against United at St. James’ Park. And back in December, United crushed Newcastle (3-1) at Old Trafford as -250 favorites.
Manchester United will be feeling tremendous pressure to pick up the full three points tomorrow. Currently sitting on 50 points, the Red Devils are just two points up on surging Liverpool for fourth place (and one back of Arsenal for third). Meanwhile, Newcastle are 11th with 35 points.
If picking a winner doesn’t suit your taste in this game, you can also wager on who will score the first goal. Man United’s Wayne Rooney is the favorite at +500. On the other side, the Senegal International Papiss Cisse is the favorite for Newcastle at +600. This season, Cisse has the best minutes-per-goal rate in the EPL, scoring one goal every 84 minutes.
(Photo credit: Austin Osuide [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. Photo has been cropped.)
Zack is a tour guide whose favorite sports are football, baseball, and golf. He enjoys giving obnoxious commentary during games and hopes to some day write a book about sports. His favorite underdog victory was the Diamondbacks beating the Yankees in game 7 of the World Series.
