The oldest domestic knockout competition in the world is coming to its conclusion and, this weekend, both FA Cup semi-finals are being played out. On Saturday, Manchester City will take on Arsenal but we’re going to focus on Sunday’s clash between two of the biggest clubs in world football.
Manchester United take on Chelsea at Wembley Stadium in this 1pm ET kick off and it’s going to be hard to split two sides who are in solid form in the Premier League.
Man Utd vs Chelsea Moneyline Odds
There is the potential for extra time in this game so remember that the moneyline odds relate to the result in normal time / 90 minutes only. Currently, it’s a tight market with Man Utd as narrow favorites. Victory for Chelsea is only marginally behind with the draw following as the outside option.
To underline just how close this could be, the result odds range from around +150 for the United victory to +225 for the draw so calling this game is going to be tricky. This Man Utd vs Chelsea predictions article is edging towards the draw in normal time but before committing to that, this preview needs to consider some props.
MUFC vs CFC Interesting Prop Bets To Consider
Those who are undecided about the 90-minute result could take a look at the ‘to qualify’ market. This bet will pay out on which club progresses to the final irrespective of whether extra time and possibly penalties are required. This is clearer with Manchester United dropping to minus figures and Chelsea coming in at an industry best of +115.
Moving on to the regular set of prop bets and there are a number of strong options in the ‘first goalscorer’ betting. This is another tight market with no fewer than six players locked at the same odds of +550 in places. Manchester United’s Anthony Martial, Mason Greenwood, Odion Ighalo and Bruno Fernandes are on offer at that price, as are the Chelsea duo of Tammy Abraham and Olivier Giroud.
United’s key striker Marcus Rashford is slightly further back and may offer more value while some longer options from midfield include Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic and United’s Juan Mata.
‘Both teams to score’ (BTTS) could be heavily backed this Sunday and it comes with reasonable odds that come closer to the +100 (evens) mark than we might have expected. Manchester United have scored 15 goals in their last three matches while Chelsea have found the net on nine occasions in the same period.
BTTS is always a popular bet but the elite odds setters for USA players aren’t indicating too many goals in this game. For total combined goals of over 2.5, the best prices hit the +100 mark and it’s rare to see this prop bet reach that sort of level. To push to over 3.5, odds climb a little further up to +260 in places.
Winning margin bets will also attract attention for those who are expecting a tight and nervous encounter. A margin of one goal to MUFC is the shorter option at a typical +300 while the same outcome in favor of CFC can be picked up at a general +350.
Remember, with the exception of the ‘to qualify’ market, all of these bets relate to the score in 90 minutes – excluding any extra time.
Our Preview’s Man Utd vs Chelsea Predictions & Betting Picks Verdict
At this advanced stage of such an important competition, many pundits are expecting a tight and cagey game. The first priority, according to the theory, is that neither team wants to lose so a nervous draw follows and there are likely to be very few goals in the first 90 minutes.
This preview agrees with those suggestions to an extent and possibly the respective qualities of the two sides mean that they are going to cancel each other out. A draw in 90 minutes looks a likely call and we would not be surprised if this tie ends with a dramatic penalty shootout.
This season’s league games between Chelsea and Manchester United aren’t on our side. United won both games, scoring six goals without conceding but an FA Cup semi-final is a different prospect.
A higher scoring draw could be on the cards and USAbetting will claim the ‘both teams to score’ bet. The stats were encouraging in this respect although it might be worth keeping in mind that defenses have been tight in both camps. Over the course of ten combined previous games, Chelsea and Man Utd have recorded five shutouts between them.
We will conclude our betting predictions with a bet on Marcus Rashford to score in 90 minutes. The England striker has notched 22 goals this season and, while six other players share the favorites berth in places, Rashford is at a more tempting price. These are our three recommended picks against the bookies:
- Bet the draw (in 90 minutes) on the moneyline @ best odds of +230 with Bovada, Bookmaker or BetOnline.
- Take Marcus Rashford to score at any time (in 90 minutes) @ +175 with Intertops.
- Expect both teams to score (in normal time) @ -140 with Bovada.
Matt Harris is a golf and soccer expert for USA Betting. His other area of specialist knowledge is cricket. He is well known in sports journalism and contributes articles to a plethora of big-name websites and media outlets. Titles that he writes or has written for include: Betfair, BetVictor, Unibet & Just Bookies.