Cardiff City vs Manchester United predictions, betting tips and odds | 22/12/2018 |

Ole Gunner Soljaker will take lead of Manchester United when they visit the Cardiff City stadium with the Red Devils languishing 11 points behind 4th placed Chelsea. Jose Mourinho’s sacking was unexpected but with more than half the league campaign still left the go, there is belief that something could still be salvaged. That said, we’re backing a result for the Bluebirds in our Cardiff City vs Manchester United predictions.

Cardiff City vs Manchester United: odds and predictions

Manchester United are the betting favourites for this fixture having been priced up by the William Hill traders at 4/7 for the victory. Neil Warnock’s men find themselves at a relatively short 5/1 for all three points with a sharing of the spoils of war betting at a 3/1 pick.

Solskjaer endured an ill-fated nine months at Cardiff in 2014, unable to prevent them from being relegated and picking up just nine wins from 30 matches. He returns on Saturday as the interim Manchester United manager having seen Jose Mourinho sacked on Tuesday morning after a poor run of results.

The Norwegian United legend had actually signed a new contract with club Molde but will be relieved of his duties and return to Old Trafford with Mike Phelan as assistant manager.

That said, United are still trading as the betting favourites with their odds tipped at 4/7 for the win. However, our Cardiff City vs Manchester United predictions and betting tips are swaying towards a low-scoring draw.

Click here for all Cardiff vs Manchester United markets and odds. 

Cardiff City vs Manchester United head-to-head (most recent first): Manchester United 2-0 Cardiff City, Cardiff City 2-2 Manchester United, Manchester United 4-0 Cardiff City, Cardiff City 0-1 Manchester United, Manchester United 3-0 Cardiff City.

Read our football betting tips and free predictions for this week. 

Best bet: Match result draw and both teams to score, betting at 19/5

The first instalment of our Cardiff City vs Manchester United predictions and betting tips are backing a result for the Bluebirds, taking into account their strong form at home and Man United’s extremely poor away form this season.

Neil Warnock’s men have found solace in the Cardiff City stadium and now sit in 16th position in the table having been rooted to the bottom of the table at the start of the season. They were favourites to be relegated but trade at odds of 4/6, less favoured than Burnley at 4/9 and Huddersfield at 4/11.

With consecutive home wins against Brighton, Wolves and Southampton, Cardiff have shown great promise when playing at home. They have four of their last five games the Cardiff City stadium, scoring nine goals and conceding five.

Manchester United meanwhile haven’t won away from home in the Premier League since their last-gasp winner at Bournemouth back in the beginning of November. Mourinho’s side lost to Liverpool and Manchester City whilst dropping points at Southampton.

That’s why our Cardiff City vs Manchester United predictions are backing a draw with both teams to score at odds of 19/5.

Goal-scorer tips: Romelu Lukaku to score first, betting at odds of 4/1

One player who might benefit from Mourinho’s departure could be their Belgian number 9, Romelu Lukaku.

We’ve picked him out to score first against Cardiff, at enticing odds of 4/1. In truth, Lukaku has looked a shadow of his former self this season, accumulating just six goals in the Premier League. Of those six, five of them have been away from home.

The network of players behind and around him had been muddled and confusing, with no certainty as to who will line up alongside him. Consequently, Lukaku has averaged just 1.8 short per game in the league and surely the only way from here is up.

We’re backing him to reap the benefits of a new coach and a more pragmatic, attacking style of football under Solskjaer.

Cardiff City vs Manchester United predictions: Opta Stats

• Cardiff City have won only one of their last 12 league matches against Manchester United (D3 L8), winning 3-0 in November 1960.
• Manchester United have picked up 26 points after their first 17 league games this season under Jose Mourinho; their worst points haul in the top-flight at this stage since 1990-91 (also 26 points).
• Manchester United won 176 Premier League points under recently dismissed manager Jose Mourinho; fewer than Manchester City (222), Tottenham Hotspur (202), Chelsea (200) and Liverpool (196) since August 2016.
• Of the 31 players with at least five Premier League goals this season, Romelu Lukaku has scored the highest percentage of them away from home (5/6 – 83%).
• Cardiff City manager Neil Warnock has failed to win any of his seven previous encounters with Man Utd in all competitions, losing six of those games (D1).