Villarreal v Man Utd betting tips: Carrick in charge for Spain trip
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Preview and odds for Tuesday’s Champions League game
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was finally sacked over the weekend and Michael Carrick is in temporary charge as we pick out some Villarreal v Man Utd betting tips.
Much of the talk in the build-up to the game surrounds who will be the next Manchester United manager but Carrick must ensure his players remain focused.
Tuesday’s match, which takes place at El Madrigal, kicks off at 5.45pm and is live on BT Sport.
Villarreal v Man Utd match odds
Carrick is the next former player taking temporary charge of United after Solskjaer was sacked.
The first-team coach has stepped into the breach after United ended Solskjaer’s three-year reign following a run of poor results which included a 5-0 defeat to arch-rivals Liverpool and a derby loss to Manchester City before the final straw of the embarrassing 4-1 reverse at Watford.
United’s Champions League form has been much better at least and Carrick is 29/20 to oversee a victory which would guarantee United’s place in the last 16 with a game to spare.
The home team also have seven points, though, and will be confident of adding to United’s problems so are likely to be a popular pick for Villarreal v Man Utd betting tips as 15/8 underdogs.
They have been the draw specialists in Spain this season, sharing the points in seven of their 13 matches including a 1-1 draw at Celta Vigo on Saturday.
Villarreal v Man Utd head-to-head
This is the third meeting between these teams this year so they should know all about each other.
The first was in the Europa League final in May when Villarreal defied the odds to deny Solskjaer some much-needed silverware.
Gerard Moreno gave the Spaniards a first-half lead before Edinson Cavani equalised 10 minutes after the break and the match went all the way to penalties before Villarreal won a dramatic shoot-out 11-10.
Villarreal again scored first in the Champions League clash in September but Paco Alcacer’s opener (pictured above) was quickly cancelled out by Alex Telles.
Another 1-1 draw looked on the cards until Cristiano Ronaldo struck the winner for United in the fifth minute of injury time.
Villarreal v Man Utd key battles
It remains to be seen what sort of changes Carrick makes for his first match in charge but Ronaldo will again be key to United’s chances.
The Portuguese star has scored five goals in United’s four group matches and he is the 7/2 favourite to open the scoring.
He is the same price to score last, which may make more sense given his Champions League heroics this season, while the #YourCall specials include 12/1 for Ronaldo to score anytime and to be shown a card.
United have been poor defensively recently and Villarreal are the top scorers in Group F with nine goals so over 3.5 goals here at 9/5 is worth considering as the last of our Villarreal v Man Utd betting tips.
All odds and markets are correct at the time of publication
