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FCSB v Manchester United: Prediction, Tips and Odds

FCSB and Manchester United meet in a huge clash in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday as both teams seek to finish as high up the standings as possible.

Unbeaten United are currently fourth in the rankings and heading straight into the round of 16, but will be aware that any slip against eighth-placed FCSB could see them plunge into the play-offs.

FCSB v Manchester United

FCSB v Manchester United betting tips and predictions

FCSB or draw double chance - 5/4

FCSB and Manchester United meet at the Arena Nationale in Bucharest with their places in the knockout stage guaranteed.

But that barely scratches the surface of the possible permutations and makes this showdown in the Romanian capital hugely intriguing.

United are sitting pretty in fourth and know that a win takes them into the round of 16 and avoids the need for an unwanted two more fixtures in the play-off round. A draw should also be good enough, but a defeat, given the calibre of the sides just below them, will almost certainly see them fall out of the top eight.

FCSB sit in eighth place just a point behind United and are into the next phase.

But they know that a win would see them leapfrog United and into the round of 16. A draw probably would not.

So, given the demands on clubs around Europe at the moment, you can see why both FCSB - or Steaua Bucharest as they are still known - and United would want to ensure they don't have the burden of two more fixtures in the play-off round and why this match has plenty riding on it.

And it's a tough one for United, who are 8/13 shots.

FCSB are unbeaten in their three home matches in this tournament having seen off Rigas 4-1, Midtjylland 2-0 and drawn 0-0 with Olympiakos. They also won a play-off round tie against Austrian outfit LASK to qualify for this stage.

Their only loss in seven was a 4-0 thumping at Rangers which looks completely out of kilter with the rest of their results.

Elias Charalambous' men have lost only one of their last 17 league games and are clearly a decent team.

As for United, they continue to frustrate on a grand scale domestically and weren't overly impressive in the early stages of their UEFA Europa League campaign, drawing their first three games against Twente, Porto and Fenerbahce.

Since then they have won all four, 2-0 against PAOK, 3-2 against Bodo/Glimt, 2-1 at Viktoria Plzen and last time 2-1 at home to Rangers.

Those results are good but have rarely been backed up with impressive performances and they can ill-afford to be complacent in Bucharest where the FCSB/Draw double chance play looks the right one.

Adrian Sut over 0.5 shots on target - 9/4

FCSB have been defensively excellent in the UEFA Europa League with four clean sheets in seven. The only aberration came at Ibrox in the out-of-character 4-0 loss to Rangers.

United will do well to get the better of a back four marshalled by ex-Hearts defender Mihai Popescu, while there is also plenty of protection from the midfield.

FCSB are less productive going forward - they are the lowest scorers in the top eight with 10 goals - but they do have players who can hit the target.

One of those is midfielder and set-piece exponent Adrian Sut, who scored twice from set-plays in last week's 3-2 win in Qarabaq.

He isn't prolific by any stretch but he is a threat from range and free-kicks so looks a huge price at 9/4 to get just one effort on target.

Man United over 5.5 corners - 5/6

FCSB will have to do plenty of defending and that means coughing up a fair few corners to United.

During the tournament so far the Red Devils have won 46 corners at a rate of 6.6 per game.

Ruben Amorim will rotate his squad - their next game is an early kick off in the Premier League on Sunday at home to Crystal Palace - but they will stay positive.

Only Slavia Praha of the 36 teams in the competition have won more corners than United, who can claim more than 5.5 in the Romanian capital.

Read more football betting tips and predictions on site.

FCSB v Manchester United odds

FCSB - 9/2
Draw -
3/1
Manchester United -
8/13

View the full market and more odds for FCSB v Manchester United on site.

This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.

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