Premier League: Manchester United Hero is Home for Christmas

Manchester United vs Huddersfield Town

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer takes charge as Manchester United boss for the first time at Old Trafford on Boxing Day, in an emotional return for the United legend.

The Theatre of Dreams has served up the stuff of nightmares recently, but the red half of Manchester finally has some hope to cling to. Premier League Manchester United vs Huddersfield looks like a regulation home win for a Big Six side, but if Solskjaer does steer his side to three points it will be celebrated like a trophy win.

The Red Devils have been in the shadow of Manchester City since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson and that really hurts. So what better way to numb the pain by recalling the 1999 Champions League final, when Solskjaer wrote himself into United folklore by snatching a dramatic late winner.

The sacking of Jose Mourinho came as no surprise to anyone; it was just a case of when the axe would fall. Of course, even if Jose was still in charge, the Manchester United vs Huddersfield betting odds would have pointed to a home win, now anything else is unthinkable.

Talking Points

Could OGS be the long-term answer to the Red Devils’ prayers?

Mauricio Pochettino and Zinedine Zidane have already been touted as the front-runners for the hot seat at OT, but OGS has the chance to get himself in the frame.

The gap to that priceless fourth place is eight points. That’s a lot to make up, but not enough to faze United in Olly’s playing days. And there’s a feel-good factor returning to Salford already after a resounding win at the weekend. The 1-5 destruction of Cardiff was the first time the Red Devils have scored five in the Premier League since the reign of Ferguson. So it’s no coincidence that Sir Alex’ faithful lieutenant, Mike Phelan, is alongside Olly in the Manchester United coaching team.

There is clearly a line of communication again between the United hierarchy and the pitch, which has been absent for at least two. And, in turn, maybe there’s the same link re-emerging between the dugout and the players. It might be too early to suggest that the club has become united again, but what a start the new regime (and the old guard) has made.

The players who played with such freedom for England under Gareth Southgate, namely Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford, did so once again for the Red Devils, scoring three between them. It was a far cry from the side which wilted under the pressure of title-chasing Liverpool last week.

Premier League: Jesse Lingard contributes to Manchester United win against Cardiff City with a brace — Jesse Lingard celebrates with Manchester United teammates after scoring his goal versus Cardiff City

Manchester United played with higher intensity and, tellingly, Paul Pogba started for OGS, having been benched for the loss to the league leaders.

But let’s not get too carried away, Olly’s only previous foray into Premier League management resulted in relegation with Cardiff City.

Can Huddersfield survive against the odds again?

In their second season in the Premier League Huddersfield are finding it just as hard as they did in their first. The Terriers have defied massive odds to triumph over the last two seasons, but can they do so again?

Head coach David Wagner has worked miracles. First, he got his un-fancied side promoted via the playoffs, the first team ever to win promotion to the Premier League with a negative goal difference! So as everyone’s favourite to go straight back down they had nothing to lose and somehow managed to scratch together enough points to survive, including an earth-shattering win over Mourinho’s Manchester United.

But the Terriers find themselves joint bottom after 18 games and I can’t see much hope of them performing another great escape.

Captain Christopher Schindler is in his third season at the John Smiths Stadium and the German defender does a sterling job in holding his back-line together, while England U21 and Spurs trainee Alex Pritchard provides some creativity going forward.

The main problem is, they just can’t score. With only 11 goals in 18 games, they give themselves little chance of winning games no matter how well they defend.

History

Huddersfield shocked the Red Devils two years ago with a 2-1 win but we can’t take too much from Manchester United vs Huddersfield results as this is just the second season in the top flight for David Wagner’s Terriers.

They arrive at Old Trafford on the back of five consecutive defeats, the last two, worryingly, were home games against fellow strugglers Newcastle United and Southampton.

Manchester United’s home record reads four wins, three draws and one defeat, while Huddersfield has won just once away, with two draws and five defeats.

The new regime at Old Trafford has a low base camp to climb from. A year ago, Manchester United was second in the table with 41 points. Now they are sixth with 29 points.

Betting Tip

	Manchester United vs Huddersfield Town	Over 2.75 @ 1.83
	December 26, 23:00 (GMT+8)

Under Jose, a bet on under 2.50 goals in a United game was always popular, but the times, they are a changing. Having scored five away from home I can see the Red Devils going for a big score in front of an expectant crowd. The SBOBET odds of 1.23 on a home win, with the draw at 5.80 and the Terriers at 8.75 point to a home win of more than a single goal.

I think Olly’s United will get at least three.