Manchester United look for a reaction at Barnsley

Barnsley lie 20th in the Championship and surely Ipswich and Reading have too much quality to remain mired in the relegation zone for much longer. Barnsley is coming off the backs of defeats to Bristol City (3-2) and Nottingham Forest (1-0) and Mark Robins will be considering the merits of the league campaign ahead of this glamour fixture. A long run in this competition is unlikely to do anything other than damage Barnsley's league campaign and so there could be a few players failing fitness tests ahead of this game.

Robins, of course, was the FA Cup match winner for Manchester United at Nottingham Forest almost 20 years ago - a win that eventually saw United win the FA Cup and start the domestic dominance that has spanned those two decades. That Sir Alex Ferguson is still the United manager is more remarkable than ever as is the fact that so many of his former charges became top managers.

United tend to win games where former United players form the opposition manager - and that added to Barnsley's parlous position in the Championship should be enough to predict a comfortable United win. But United do often mess up this type of game and has been eliminated by a number of lower league teams in recent years, but there are a couple of reasons to suggest that tonight may be different.

United was beaten comfortably by Liverpool at the weekend and Ferguson will be looking for a reaction; which could be a bad sign for Robins. Michael Owen seems certain to start and given a couple of chances should score a goal or two. Nani will also probably be in the starting line-up and given extra time and space is bound to hit the target a couple of times. Macheda may partner Owen up front and will be desperate to make another impression on the manager given that he seems to have slipped behind Owen and Welbeck in the pecking order of attackers.

All in all a game that United should win, but at odds on backing United is not much value - so look for value in the goalscorers and number of goals. Until the team is declared the bookies will be marking Owen and Berbatov as lowest priced goalscorers - even if neither is likely to start - so the other United forwards will be better odds until that declaration.

Tips:
5/4 Michael owen goal (anytime)
12/5 Nani goal (anytime)
7/4 Macheda goal (anytime)
13/8 More than 3 goals in Match

(All odds courtesy of Bet365, which is offering #200 in free bets for new accounts).