Why My Money Is Going On Stoke To Beat Manchester United This Evening

The Britannia Stadium is a notoriously hard place to go, as the Stoke City fans are an intimidating bunch when they want to be. Manchester United travel there this evening as they look to progress into the semi-finals of the League Cup, but it won’t be as straight forward as some may think. Here is why I think United will struggle tonight.

Firstly I think Stoke will be playing with a five-man midfield. This means that there is a strong chance that the United midriff will get overrun, as we have seen on numerous occasions this season how Moyes’ is struggling for options in the central areas.

Secondly, the wings could be a problem for the Red Devils. Ossama Assaidi and Marko Arnautovic are likely to be operating on the wings and we know that Adnan Januzaj isn’t the best at tracking back and with Buttner looking likely to be at left-back – a player who loves to get forward, there could be space to exploit.

This season United have conceded some silly fouls in dangerous areas and Stoke are the worst team to do that against. The sheer size of their players, from Huth at the back to Crouch up front, means that they can cause some trouble in those areas, so it’ll be important that United stay organised.

Although United are favourites, my money is going on Stoke to progress tonight.