Porto will be no soft touch as Manchester United seek to regain pride
Who is going to stand up, take responsibility and drag Manchester United away from their current nosedive into calamity?
On the evidence of Sunday’s abysmal performance against Tottenham there are few candidates.
The fallen giants travel to Porto for a Europa League encounter with confidence in short supply after surrendering to Spurs and it’s time some of Erik ten Hag’s squad, assembled for a mind-boggling £600million, looked in the mirror and admitted they are taking the club for a ride.
Harsh? Not when you consider that the 3-0 loss to Ange Postecoglou’s side has left United with their joint-worst start to a Premier League season with just two wins and a draw from their first six matches.
It was also the tenth defeat by three or more goals during ten Hag’s tenure and the second time they have suffered a 3-0 reversal at Old Trafford this term, with Liverpool also taking them to the cleaners before the last international break.
The pressure on the Dutch coach continues to escalate but he may be safe until the international break and beyond, even if United are beaten by both Porto and Aston Villa in Sunday’s Premier League game in the midlands, as long as performances improve and there are signs the club is heading in the right direction.
The worry is that United have rarely shown consistency over 90 minutes, let alone a couple of games, this season and for large chunks of the last campaign.
While the FA Cup victory over Manchester City at Wembley in May was a cause of tremendous joy for all connected with the club, it ultimately led to the United board handing a new two-year contract to the 54-year-old in July, a decision which has backed them into a corner.
United’s opening Europa League appearance ended in a lacklustre 1-1 draw with Twente and they face a Porto side which has won six of seven games in the Primeira Liga and who have scored 18 times in eight games in all competitions with Samu Omorodion, linked with Chelsea in the summer, credited with five of them in his last four outings.
He’s 13/2 with bet365 and BoyleSports to break the deadlock and 12/5 with the former firm to score at any time while Rasmus Hojlund is 9/4 with Sky Bet to get United on the scoreboard. A 2-1 Porto success is 9/1 with bet365, BoyleSports and William Hill.
• Dominic Solanke is 24/5 with Unibet to opening the scoring for Tottenham in their Europa League match with Ferencvaros in Budapest while Spurs are 11/10 across the board to lead HT/FT.
• Cole Palmer isn’t in Chelsea’s Europa Conference League squad but Nicolas Jackson is and he’s 23/5 with SpreadEx to open the scoring against Gent at Stamford Bridge.
• England have avoided the group of death which includes defending champions Australia plus India and the emerging Sri Lankans at the T20 Women’s World Cup in the UAE making them a superb each-way bet at 4/1 with Unibet, BetMGM and BetUK.
Alyssa Healy, married to Baggy Green paceman Mitchell Starc and niece to Aussie legend Ian Healy, is also worth an e/w dabble to be the tournament’s top batter.
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