Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is on thin ice.
After guiding the Red Devils to a third-place finish in 2022-23, the Dutch manager has seemingly lost the plot in 2023-24 and there’s genuine concern that he could be handed his walking papers if his team doesn’t win its next two matches before the November international break.
The first of the two matches takes place Wednesday afternoon against FC Copenhagen.
United is a -120 road favorite in a massive contest in the Champions League group stage.
Manchester United vs. FC Copenhagen prediction
(3 p.m. ET.)
That Manchester United is in a precarious position in the Champions League is a good indicator for how this season has gone as a whole for the Red Devils.
Drawn into a group with Bayern Munich, Galatasaray and Copenhagen, United should have had a relatively straightforward path to the knockout stages.
Instead, United has struggled in every match and desperately needs three points against Copenhagen to put itself in a decent spot to qualify for the Round of 16.
That should sound like a pretty easy task for Manchester United, but that’s just not how things have gone for this team so far.
Not only did United escape from their match against the Danes with a win only because of Andre Onana’s heroics in goal, but its also had plenty of trouble with other also-rans in the Premier League.
United has won four of its last six matches across all competitions, but those four victories have come against Brentford, Sheffield United, Copenhagen and Fulham, and none were convincing.
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The Red Devils needed two stoppage-time goals to defeat Brentford, they lost on expected goals to Copenhagen, Sheffield United and Fulham and they won by exactly one goal in each of those three victories.
You could argue that no team in the Premier League has caught more breaks than United over the last six weeks and yet it still does not look convincing at all.
United’s struggles and inconsistent play — especially on defense — makes it a vulnerable favorite and there’s plenty of value on backing Copenhagen to pull the upset and send the Red Devils into further turmoil.
The Bet: FC Copenhagen +320 (Caesars Sportsbook)
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