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The Europa League returns to our screens on Thursday with Manchester United travelling to Turkey to take on former manager Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce.
Fresh from bagging a 35/1 Champions League Acca on Tuesday night, PP football tipster Shane O’Brien is back with five picks for a Bet Builder here, so let’s get his Fenerbahce v Man United betting tips.
Two of Shane’s picks are covered by Paddy’s Super Sub promotion too, so should the player be subbed off the pick will continue with his replacement.
Over 2.5 goals
Edin Dzeko to score anytime
Man United goalkeeper to make four or more saves
Over 9.5 corners
Alejandro Garnacho to have one or more shots on target
WHEN: Thursday, 24th of October, 8:00pm
WHERE: Ülker Stadyumu Fenerbahçe, Istanbul
TV: TNT Sports
Over 2.5 goals
Manchester United will see many familiar faces when they travel to Fenerbahce on Thursday evening, not least their former midfielders Fred and Sofyan Amrabat and former manager Jose Mourinho. When facing United, a Mourinho-managed side has only lost one time in 11 meetings. They will also meet several former Premier League opponents who have switched to Turkey in the twilight of their careers.
But despite boasting an aging squad, Fenerbahce represent dangerous opponents for United, while Turkey has not been a happy hunting ground for the Red Devils in recent years. The away side have drawn one and lost three of their last four visits to Turkey, including a 2-1 defeat to Fenerbahce in the third round of a Europa League group stage campaign.
They desperately need to reverse that form, considering they have started their campaign with back-to-back draws and are already slipping behind the early frontrunners in this new competition format. United’s defensive calamities against Twente and Porto have left them with just two points, and all signs point to Erik Ten Hag’s side conceding again on Thursday night.
Fenerbahce have scored in every game they have played in all competitions this season, including four Champions League play-offs. However, Mourinho’s side have not kept a clean sheet in six European games to date this season, conceding in both of their Europa League games and shipping seven goals in four Champions League qualifiers.
It will probably take at least two goals to find a winner on Thursday night, and it would not be overly surprising to see a repeat of Fenerbahce’s 2-1 win back in 2016.
Edin Dzeko to score anytime
Edin Dzeko is one of the aging Fenerbahce players who have met United in another life. The Bosnian striker enjoys an excellent record against the Red Devils dating back to his time at Wolfsburg.
He has scored against United on each of the four occasions he has faced them in Europe, scoring home and away for Wolfsburg in the group stages of the 2009/10 Champions League campaign and both home and away in the 2020/21 Europa League semi-finals.
He also scored four times in six Premier League appearances at Manchester City.
Dzeko may be well into the twilight of his career, but he is still by far the most prolific striker at Mourinho’s disposal. He has scored nine times in 14 appearances for Fenerbahce this season, including four goals in six European appearances. He is a tempting price to make himself United’s nemesis once more.
Man United goalkeeper to make four or more saves
United faced 16 shots and eight shots on target during their last visit to Turkey, which ended in a chaotic 3-3 draw with Fenerbahce’s crosstown rivals Galatasaray.
United have tightened up their defence considerably compared to last season, which saw them face an average number of shots per game that a team fighting relegation would expect to face.
Yet, they are still facing more than 11 shots per game in the Premier League this season and faced 14 shots on goal in their only away game to date in the Europa League. On that occasion, Porto hit the target seven times and scored three times.
There is every chance Andre Onana will be forced into at least four saves on Thursday.
Over 9.5 corners
United alone would have cleared this corner market in their two Europa League games this season.
Ten Hag’s side have won 10 corners in each of their Europa League outings this season and have shown plenty of attacking intent in the competition, recording 19 shots against Twente and 29 against Porto.
Fenerbahce, on the other hand, have averaged 4.5 corners per game in the competition so far and averaged five per game in their Champions League qualifying campaign. Between them, United and Fenerbahce should comfortably clear 10 corners on Thursday.
Alejandro Garnacho to have 1+ more shots on target
Alejandro Garnacho has been a shining light in what has been a difficult campaign for United to date, scoring five goals in all competitions, including the equaliser in Untied’s vital win over Brentford at the weekend.
Only Bruno Fernandes averages more than Garnacho’s average of 2.8 shots per game in the league. In comparison, no United player has averaged more shots per game than Garnacho in Europe (4.5 shots per game).
United will have chances on Thursday night, and Garnacho is likely to be involved in at least a few of them. He should hit the target at least once.
Fenerbahce v Man Unted Bet Builder tips
Over 2.5 goals
Edin Dzeko to score anytime
Man United goalkeeper to make four or more saves
Over 9.5 corners
Alejandro Garnacho to have one or more shots on target
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
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