Cardiff vs Manchester United Predictions

Cardiff were touted as the firm favourites for relegation this season after their unexpected promotion last year, and while the danger has far from passed over the Cardiff City Stadium, there is no doubt that they are performing better than most expected at the moment.

They come into game-week 18 with a 2 point cushion on the relegation zone, and that comes despite their 8 game winless streak right at the start of the season. They have won 3 of their last 6 Premier League outings and come into this huge pre-Christmas tie having collected a maximum of 9 points from their last 3 home games.

Manchester United, on the other hand, come into this game having undergone major changes since their 3-1 defeat at Anfield last weekend. Jose Mourinho has been sacked from his post, replaced by interim manager and fan favourite Ole Gunnar Solksjaer for the remainder of the season. The Norwegian had an ill fated spell at the helm of Cardiff earlier in his managerial career and will be keen to show his former employers how much he has grown since returning to Molde.

He has a big job to do at Old Trafford though. Manchester United come into this game having won just 1 of their last 6 Premier League matches, and they find themselves 11 points adrift of the top 4 and enduring their worst start to a league season since the 1990/91 campaign.

To make matters worse, their defence is leaking goals at a blistering pace. They have kept just 2 clean sheets all season and have already conceded more goals than they did in the entirety of last season. Away from home they have won 1 of their last 6 and have only kept 1 clean sheet all season, so Solskjaer certainly has his work cut out.

However, there is the very real phenomenon of the new manager effect to consider, and it’s worth noting that Cardiff have won just 1 of their last 12 league matches against Manchester United.

We definitely fancy the Bluebirds to grab a goal on Saturday. After all, they have scored in 6 of their 9 Premier League home games and are facing a Manchester United side with just 2 clean sheets all season. However, we think Solskjaer’s arrival can boost the visitors enough to get the 3 points, so we’re backing a Manchester United Win and Both Teams to Score along with a 2-1 correct score predictions.