Manchester Utd vs Reading prediction: ENGLAND: FA Cup betting tips on match 2023-01-27 20:00.
Manchester Unitedâs commanding 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest in the first leg of their League Cup semi-final clash on Wednesday moved the Red Devils one step closer to ending their six-year silverware drought. After the disappointment of falling 11 points behind the pace in the league last weekend when they lost at leaders Arsenal, manager Erik ten Hag was pleased with the response at Forest, stating they âhave to do everything to bring a trophy inâ.
Attention now turns to the FA Cup which holds a dear place in Unitedâs heart too, lifting the iconic trophy 12 times in their history – second only to Arsenalâs 14. Progress in this yearâs competition depends on seeing off lower-league side Reading, something theyâve managed twice in the last six years at Old Trafford. Confidence of achieving that feat again is bound to be high, with United winning each of their last ten home games, conceding just four goals along the way.
United were eliminated at this stage last season by a Championship side however, something which should give the Royals hope of pulling off an upset. Visiting manager Paul Ince returns to his former stomping ground looking to restore some of the early-season positivity around Reading, as theyâve now failed to win any of their last four Championship games (D2, L2).
Their latest setback was a 4-0 thumping at Stoke which saw them fall even further behind in the play-off race and infuriated Ince, stating his players âlet the club downâ. A solid performance in Manchester could go some way to making up for that display but victory still appears highly unlikely, given that Reading have failed to win an away FA Cup tie against Premier League opposition since 2011 (1-0 v Everton).
Key battle: After becoming the record appearance holder for a Brazilian in Manchester Unitedâs history, Fred may be in line to return and looking to improve his record of never losing when heâs scored for the club (W7, D2). The visitors may turn to the managerâs son, Tom Ince, to provide firepower as heâs netted six goals this season, five of which arrived after half-time.
Hot stat: Reading have failed to win any of the last 17 H2H meetings with United (D4, L13), with eight of those defeats coming in the FA Cup!