UEFA Champions League: Istanbul Basaksehir vs. Manchester United Preview, Odds, Prediction

Istanbul Basaksehir meets Manchester United at home, in the third round of the Champions League campaign. The hosts have two losses in the opening two games, hoping that they might surprise the inconsistent Red Devils. As for United, they continue to infuriate their fans with results. After having a pretty solid start, Solskjaer’s guys started slowing down and oscillating in the moments when nobody expects. That gives Istanbul some hope. Then again, we might see the Red Devils at their best this Wednesday, who knows.

Preview

Istanbul (+700) is terrible this year. They opened the campaign in the Turkish Super Lig with three consecutive defeats, followed by one draw. During those four matches, the champions of this country couldn’t’ score.

Overall, two of nine games they played this year saw both sides scoring, and just to add, in both UCL games against RB on the road and PSG at home, they couldn’t hit the back of the net, losing both events with 2-0.

We need to say that this unit didn’t show anything notable over 180 minutes against two top European teams. The situation would be different if there were fans in the stands when playing at home because the Turkish crowd knows how to make a fiery atmosphere.

Manchester United (-250) lost at home to Arsenal this Sunday, which was a massive slap in the face for their fans. Following a rhapsody, and a 5-0 victory over RB Leipzig, everyone expected to see them rolling over the Gunners. Or at least clinching three points.

A similar scenario happened during the previous weekend, with the Red Devils coming off a win in Paris against PSG, 1-2, and playing 0-0 with Chelsa at Trafford.

Their last three matches saw both teams not to score, which is highly interesting for Untied, whose start of the season happened to be very efficient.

We have one very important statistical information to present. United played five games on the road this year, winning all five of them and scoring twice each time. In fact, until the clash in Paris, United netted three goals on each road trip.

Latest News

Istanbul will appear without Caicara due to muscle injury. Azubuike is questionable, the same as Naser Chadli and Tekdemir.

United comes to Turkey without Bailly, Phil Jones, Jesse Lingard, and Alex Telles. All other top players are ready to take on the Turks.

Head to Head Matches

These two teams never played before.

Prediction

The reason why the Red Devils play better on the road, is Solskjaer’s excellent defensive tactics. The Norwegian manager likes to defend and use his pacey forwards in transition and during counter-attacks. He has Rashford, Martial, and Greenwood, who are magnificent when talking about this aspect of play.

United’s victory should be endangered here, because hosts don’t have enough quality to break Untied. The odds on plain win are not high, which is why we suggest betting on the Red Devils win with two or more goals, +105. As mentioned before, their efficiency on the road is much higher than at home.