FA Cup third-round replay: Man United v Wolves betting preview and free tips

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Manchester United v Wolves in an FA Cup third round replay.

Where to watch

BT Sport 1, 7.45pm Wednesday

Best bet

Draw
1pt 45-17 RedZone
Back this tip with William Hill

Team news

Manchester United
Jesse Lingard (illness) missed out at the weekend and Paul Pogba (ankle), Ashley Young (unspecified) and Scott McTominay (knee) are out. Luke Shaw (hamstring) is a doubt.

Wolves
Morgan Gibbs-White (back) returned to contention at the weekend but Diogo Jota (dead leg) is a doubt and Willy Boly is short of match fitness.

Match preview

Manchester United and Wolves could have done without their FA Cup third-round replay but the demands on the players could increase because there is a good chance of their Old Trafford encounter going beyond normal time.

Sergio Romero made a stunning save from Matt Doherty in the 0-0 draw at Molineux but clear sights of goal were a rarity in a tight contest where both teams cancelled each other out.

This time United have the benefit of home advantage but playing on the road will not be of great concern to Wolves, who are suited to sitting deep and hitting teams on the counter.

Wolves have sustained just four defeats from 18 road trips this season and picked up excellent results at Manchester City (2-0) and Arsenal (1-1).

They are going through a dip in the Premier League – taking one point from three matches – but are seventh, which is a fair effort considering the extra demands added by the Europa League.

Nuno Espirito Santo prefers a small squad and his gamble seems to be paying off because Wolves have picked up remarkably few injuries despite cramming in 37 games this season.

The Portuguese head coach made a few allowances for player fatigue by benching regulars Joao Moutinho, Jonny Otto and Raul Jimenez for the original clash against United.

But all three were involved after the break as Nuno showed his commitment to taking Wolves on another memorable FA Cup journey.

Wolves came within a whisker of reaching the final last year and their adventure included a 2-1 success at home to United in the quarter-finals.

United will feel better placed to exact revenge after holding firm at Molineux and go into the replay high on confidence after a 4-0 success at home to Norwich on Saturday.

The bigger picture for them, however, is the race for Champions League qualification (they are five points behind fourth-placed Chelsea) and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will surely take that into account when selecting his team.

United also meet Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday and the Red Devils would love to maintain their unique status as the only top-flight team not to have tasted defeat against the leaders.

Solskjaer is likely to make changes and has plenty of depth in attack with talented youngsters Dan James and Mason Greenwood among those eager to impress.

However, the dynamic duo are at their best when given space to run in behind and that is something Wolves will be keen to deny them.

Another tactical battle could ensue with neither team wanting to open up and that would increase the chances of the scores remaining level after 90 minutes.