The Red Devils are streets ahead of their old rivals nowadays and Al Hain-Cole expects them to come out on top in a high-scoring friendly in Perth
A long-standing English rivalry will be revived in Australia on Wednesday as Manchester United take on Leeds United at the Optus Stadium.
The two teams have shared plenty of feisty encounters over the years, although have not come face-to-face since 2011.
Latest odds
Having run out 3-0 winners in that EFL Cup clash, the Red Devils are 4/11 (1.36) favourites with William Hill to retain bragging rights by coming out on top in Perth.
Marcelo Bielsa saw his debut season at the helm end in a disappointing play-off semi-final defeat, but is available at 6/1 (7.00) to raise morale by overseeing a big win over the old enemy.
Just one of the last seven encounters between this pair has resulted in a draw, but you can get odds of 7/2 (4.50) on this one finishing up all square.
Team news
Luke Shaw should be fit to play despite coming off with a slight hamstring strain in the 2-0 win over Perth Glory, while Lee Grant, Eric Bailly, Victor Lindelof and Romelu Lukaku have also returned to training.
Bielsa has opted to leave a number of first team squad members at home in order to work on their fitness, including new signing Helder Costa and all of those who arrived back for pre-season training after the main group.
Preview
It seems a long time since the Pennines derby was one of the biggest matches in English football, with younger Manchester United fans unlikely to view Leeds as rivals on the level of Liverpool or Manchester City.
This is largely due to the Whites’ demise over the last couple of decades, with even their recent improvement leaving them some way short of their historic foes.
Indeed, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men will be rightly confident of victory on Wednesday, particularly as their opponents only arrived in Australia on Sunday and are missing some big names from the travelling squad.
Predictions
All in all, odds of 5/6 (1.83) look like solid value on the Premier League side coming out on top in a match that features at least three goals.
Odds correct at the time of writing. Please gamble responsibly.
Man United to win and over 2.5 goals for a 1.5pt stake at 5/6 (1.83) bet365
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