Champions League
2009-11-25 - Manchester United vs Besiktas
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Manchester United
Manchester United will play this home game with the potential of knowing what they need to do to ensure that they finish as winners of the group. With Wolfsburg travelling to CSKA Moscow in the early kick off, United will hope that a home win here will seal top spot.
United bounced back to winning ways on Saturday when beating Everton 3-0 here at Old Trafford and will look to continue their unbeaten run at home that stretches back to last season. Only 2 sides have managed to come away from this stadium with a point this season, although one of those were CSKA Moscow on matchday 4.
Even though top spot has not been secured, it is expected that Sir Alex Ferguson will be making changes to his side to ensure that they are all kept fresh for the annual difficulties of the Christmas schedule.
It is more than likely that the likes of Edwin Van der Sar, Darren Fletcher, Ryan Giggs, Michael Carrick, Rafael, Patrice Evra and Antonio Valencia will be rested. However, with the strength in depth at Old Trafford, many international quality players will get their chances, for example Paul Scholes, Gary Neville and Nani.
Besiktas
Besiktas still harbour small hopes of reaching the Europa League this season although they have only managed 1 point from their 4 games so far in the Champions League this season. Although beaten in CSKA Moscow, they did manage a credible draw against Wolfsburg away from home.
They currently sit in 4th spot in the Turkish League and find themselves 7 points off top spot although they do have a game in hand. Besiktas have had more than their share of troubles away from home domestically, where they are 2-2-1. However they have only scored 4 goals in those matches and have conceded 4.
The Turkish side have won their last 2 games since their easy 0-3 loss to Wolfsburg at home. They are unbeaten in their last 3 away games in all competitions since losing in Moscow and have not conceded a goal in those games.
I have no new team news for Besiktas.
Head to Head
Manchester United maintained their record home run of being unbeaten in the Champions League when scraping a 3-3 draw with CSKA Moscow last time out.
Besiktas will have nervous memories about returning to the North West of England, especially when considering that the last time they were there was when they suffered a 8-0 defeat to Liverpool.
These 2 sides met in Istanbul earlier this season with Paul Scholes scoring a late winner for United.
Prediction
Manchester United will know exactly where they stand in terms of winning this group before they kick off on Wednesday and this could be the motivation the side needs to win the game. While I do expect changes to be made to the side, I also feel that United can afford to make these changes and still look a strong side.
Besiktas will also know where they stand in terms of having a chance to qualify for the Europa League before they kick off. A win for Moscow will mean that Besiktas will have to break United's home record and win to keep themselves in contention for that place. This may cause problems in itself if they have a real desire to win the game as they might be picked off on the counter attack.
I still think United are going to be good enough to win this game and I would not be surprised if the win is by a couple of goals on the night either.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Manchester United 3-0 Besiktas
BEST BETTING TIP :
Manchester United WIN
Gooner’s Statistical Value Bet
Manchester United -1.5 Asian Handicap
