Newport vs Manchester Utd prediction: ENGLAND: FA Cup betting tips on match 2024-01-27 16:30.
League Two outfit Newport County’s reward for coming through a third replay against non-league Eastleigh is a glamour tie against Manchester United, the “biggest club in this country, in Europe and in the world”. That’s the opinion of manager Graham Coughlan, a lifelong United fan, who admitted this week he was left in tears at the Red Devils’ defeat to Arsenal in the final of this competition back in 1979!
He now leads the Exiles into arguably the most significant tie in club history that could make them a huge ÂŁ400,000! Despite his previous loyalties, Coughlan will be desperate to lead Newport to the mother of all giant killings, and they’ve certainly got form for achieving it having orchestrated some famous ones over the last decade – most notably dumping top-flight Leicester out of this competition back in 2019.
Coughlan’s United affinity stands in stark contrast to that of their boss Erik ten Hag, who admitted after his side saw off Wigan in the third round that he knew “nothing” about their prospective opponents. The Dutchman will doubtless be up to speed by now, and with several first-team players returning from injury over the course of the Red Devils’ winter break, perhaps this is the chance for the likes of Casemiro and Lisandro MartĂnez to step up their recovery towards match fitness.
Last season’s beaten finalists, Man Utd usually avoid the ignominy of falling victim to lower-league opposition in this competition, as that’s happened just once since 2010! Ten Hag certainly has reason for scepticism however, as his side have won just one of their last six away matches (D2, L3), failing to score three times in that run with the sole victory coming in the previous round against third-tier Wigan.
Key battle: Free-scoring midfielder Will Evans has netted 15 times for Newport this season, and he directly contributed to two goals in their 3-1 replay victory over Eastleigh (G1, A1). Looking to keep him at bay could be debuting United goalkeeper Altay Bayındır, who hasn’t played a single minute of club football since August when he swapped Fenerbahçe for the Premier League.
Hot stat: Newport have conceded before half-time in just one of their last nine matches.