Man Utd v QPR Tip

I’ve had a good look. It’s pretty much impossible to find a good value angle that involves directly backing Man Utd in this one. The bookies have protected themselves to the extent that the champions are not only 1/5 (PaddyPower) to win but even victory by a 3-goal margin or more is priced up at 11/8 with Coral.

But I have found something, and QPR might even be able to chip in to make this a successful wager. Sportingbet go 13/5 on over 4.5 goals in the match and that strikes me as very reasonable.

The credentials for the Red Devils finding the net a few times are pretty self-evident. They have scored 76 goals in 31 Premier League games already - that’s just two short of their total for the entirety of 2010-11. Wayne Rooney is in hot Old Trafford form and must be licking his lips at the thought of adding to his 29 goals on Sunday.

But let’s not be completely surprised if QPR contribute something to a high-scoring encounter. The Hoops have beaten Arsenal and Liverpool in recent weeks, scoring five times in the process. For all their struggles they’ve only been shut out once in their last nine outings. Mark Hughes may also be boosted by the return of strikers Heidar Helguson and DJ Campbell for this one.

The visitors are highly unlikely to dent Sir Alex Ferguson’s title ambitions but they may just have their moment. Whether they do or not, betting on goals in this match looks the right play.