Soccer Betting – Man U’s First Real Test under Mou
Manchester United (+110) vs Borussia Dortmund (+229), Draw (+229)
We got our first glimpse of Manchester United under new manager Jose Mourinho last weekend when they beat up on Wigan Athletic, 2-0. The Red Devils will face a much stiffer test this Friday when they meet Borussia Dortmund at Shanghai Stadium in China as part of the International Champions Cup (8:00 AM Eastern).
United’s easy win over Wigan was expected, given that the latter played in England’s third division last year. United didn’t show anything spectacular, although Henrikh Mkhitaryan – who started on the right side of the attack – gave his new team some increased speed. The Armenian striker could play a pivotal role in the United attack this year, but he’ll have to increase his consistency. He’s always generated chances with a lot more regularity than he’s converted them.
Mkhitaryan will have ample motivation to put in a good performance on Friday. Not only is he looking to impress his new manager, but he’ll be facing his former club, Borussia Dortmund. Unlike Manchester United, Dortmund have a clear idea of how they want to play. Manager Thomas Tuchel will be in his second year with the squad and has preached an attacking, ball-control style.
That style worked well for Dortmund last year as they finished runner-up to Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga with a +48 goal differential.
Losing Mkhitaryan will be a hit to the potent Dortmund offense this season. They’ll still have Marco Reus, who has emerged as one of the most dynamic and creative playmakers in Europe – but not for this Friday’s game.
I expect the Germans to have the bulk of possession against United, but without Reus, they may be hard-pressed to turn that possession into goals. United should be able to employ Mourinho’s preferred counterattacking style with success, given how aggressively Dortmund tend to play. Neither team is going to be in midseason form, but I’ll take United to win by a goal.
Pick: Man United.
(Photo Credit: Ian C (Flickr) [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/])
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.
