Manchester Utd v Middlesbrough
15:00
Henrikh Mkhitaryan provided the spectacular finish and Paul Pogba brought the midfield cohesion that Man United needed to get past a gritty Sunderland side on Boxing Day, and this weekend they face Middlesbrough. The visitors were let down by their keeper in their last game against Burnley, having defended fiercely for 80 minutes, and while their hopes of coming away from Man United with three points may be slim, they can take courage from their defensive efforts last time out.
After a rocky start at Old Trafford, the win over Sunderland brought Mourinho’s win percentage with the Red Devils to 50%, and his blockbuster signings are starting to shine: Zlatan Ibrahimovic, for example, has been involved with 14 goals this season (12 goals, two assists), eight more than any other United player. They’ve won five and drawn three of their last eight at home against bottom-six sides, but they have not kept a clean sheet in such a match this season, so Alvaro Negredo may fancy himself to nick a goal. That being said, Middlesbrough have lost three of their last four and United have now won six on the bounce in all competitions, and having looked uninspired against Burnley, Aitor Karanka’s men will not have an easy time here on New Year’s Eve.
The victory over Sunderland was a high-scoring anomaly: 11 of the last 15 Man U home games have seen under 2.5 goals scored, and the same is true of six of Boro’s last nine away games. Consequently, we back a Man United win with Under 2.5 goals.
