My bet for the Europa league.

Watching United these days is painful.
It's been painful for a long time but it keeps getting worse.
And yet they are still in the last four in the Europa league with the chance of a major title and the chance to qualify for the champions league.

So I always like to put a bet on while i'm watching soccer matches as they can be boring sometimes. Not yesterday's match though and certainly not the last United game that was off the charts for excitement.

Extra time, a red card, going 4-2 down and then getting three goals in 8 minutes to win the tie. I was off the seat roaring at the tv.

Now I can't bet against my own team. That's just wrong.
I can't bet for them as I'm not an idiot so that just leaves the third option.
Put on a stupid bet that lasts the whole game and hope to win some money by default.
Therefore,

A nicely stupid bet at good odds.
Backing either keeper to get fouled was 3-1 but combined it's a juicy 40-1.
With Maguire playing there is a fair chance of a keeper getting bowled over and a free.
With Onana he will be flapping at corners like a headless chicken.

So a stupid bet that i can keep an eye on for the whole match.
There were a few other options but it's hard to see some of them coming off for decent odds.
I backed Fernandes to commit a foul at even money which should cover this bet plus some profit which gives me a free run at the next match if this one fails to win for me.

AI predictions.

Just for fun I'm looking at Grok and it's match predictions. They will base it purely on odds and form with no emotion.

Athletic Bilbao faces Manchester United in the Europa League semi-final first leg on May 1, 2025, at San Mamés. Bilbao, 4th in La Liga, is unbeaten at home in Europe, with a strong defense but missing key attacker Oihan Sancet. United, 14th in the Premier League, is unbeaten in 12 Europa League games, scoring 28 goals, though injuries and poor away form are issues. Bilbao has historically beaten United twice in three meetings. Opta predicts a 48.8% chance of a Bilbao win, likely low-scoring. Prediction: Bilbao’s home strength secures a narrow 1-0 victory, but United stays competitive.

So if it's a 1-0 result to Bilbao i might have to change my betting strategy and use prediction tools going forward.

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