ARE things starting to click for Manchester United? Next up is a tie against CSKA Moscow in the Champions League. Chris Graham (@chrisgraham79) looks at the betting.
CSKA Moscow v Manchester United | Wednesday 19:45 | BT Sport Europe
Those who had previously criticised were foaming at the mouth. Whispers of title challenge could be heard amongst the footballing intelligentsia.
Yes, Manchester United's stirring 3-0 win over Everton on Saturday was surely their best performance of the season and put them back to the level we witnessed last spring when they cruised past Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester City in consecutive games. Is it now time to start believing?
We'll know a lot more in the next week that's for sure as Louis Van Gaal's side take on Manchester City at the weekend and this test in Russia is by no means an easy one.
United's Champions League endeavours so far have been mixed with a 2-1 home win over Wolfsburg following on from a loss to PSV in Holland.
CSKA have had a strong start domestically this season with eight wins from their 10 matches in Russia and a big fat zero in the L column. A recent draw against champions Zenit has kept them top.
In the Champions League they've been fairly high-scoring. They joined the competition this year in the Third Qualifying Round and have seen five of their six matches go Over 2.5 Goals.
Narrow aggregate wins over Sparta Prague and Sporting Lisbon hardly set the pulse racing but they did manage to overcome PSV in the previous matchday to put themselves back in the group picture here.
It's the draw that stands out for me here at odds of 12/5. Louis Van Gaal's side can take confidence from their win over Everton at the weekend and avoid the pitfalls of that PSV away defeat. There's certainly no shame in drawing in Moscow and I'm sure they'd take that now.
While the Russians are unbeaten at home since April they don't look invincible at the Arena Khimki. Sparta Prague managed to draw there earlier in the campaign and they were held there by Man City and Roma in last season's competition.
Best Bets
CSKA Moscow v Manchester United – Draw (12/5 Bet365)
Man Utd 8/1 To Beat CSKA
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