Man Utd manager Alex Ferguson has stated his regret at losing the 1999 super cup (0-1 to Lazio) and intends to make amends on Friday; Ferguson played a weakened side that day with an upcoming game against Spurs to consider, but with a 2 week international break after Friday’s match, he intends to win and is likely to field a full-strength side.

Man Utd have been missing the goalscoring ability of Ronaldo, who will be injured until October, but with Giggs, Neville, Hargreaves and Nani returning after injury or suspension, the European champions should be far more of an attacking force against Zenit than in their opening 2 league games (1-1 vs Newcastle and 1-0 vs Portsmouth).

Russian champions Zenit have not been as strong as they were last season and are 11 points off the top of the Russian Premier League with 11 games to go; they only won 3 matches out of 10 from May to the end of July and though they have won 2 out of the last 3, there are still signs that their bad run may not be over, with a 1-3 home loss to 2nd bottom side Shinnik in their penultimate game.

Also, with Uefa cup holders only winning 2 out of the last 6 Super Cups, Man Utd are not too badly priced at an average of $1.61 for the win, but this price is a little too risky and there are other betting options that should offer more value.

Match Betting Previews 29-31 August 2008 >>> UEFA Super Cup: - Man Utd v Zenit Premiership: Arsenal v Newcastle - Bolton v WBA - Everton v Portsmouth - Hull v Wigan - Middlesbrough v Stoke - West Ham v Blackburn - Aston Villa v Liverpool - Chelsea v Spurs - Sunderland v Man City La Liga: Deportivo v Real Madrid - Numancia v Barcelona - Valencia v Mallorca Serie A: Sampdoria v Inter - Fiorentina v Juventus - Roma v Napoli Bundesliga: Leverkusen v Hoffenheim - Bayern v Hertha Ligue 1: Marseille v Sochaux - St Etienne v Lyon Superliga: Benfica v FC Porto SPL: Celtic v Rangers

Despite the disruptive transfer saga of their key attacking player Arshavin (who may be left out on Friday), Zenit have not had problems in attack, with a league-best 32 goals from 19 games, but in defence; only 4 teams in the league have a worse goals-conceded record.

In their 19 league games this season, Zenit supporters have seen an amazing 56 goals (just under 3 goals per game) and 5 of their last 6 games have been over 2.5 goals.

Past Super Cup finals have not been low-scoring with 5 out of the last 7 finals having 3 or more goals in 90 minutes and though Man Utd have had a total of just 3 goals from their 3 competitive games so far this season, against a Zenit side letting in a lot of goals, they have the perfect chance to regain their confidence in front of goal - the over 2.5 goals at $2.10 from Mansion88 looks very good, and anything on or above $2.00 should be worth taking.

BETZINE UK TIP *****

Bet: Over 2.5 goals Odds: $2.10 Stake: 7pts <Bookies: Mansion88

Match Betting Previews 29-31 August 2008 >>> UEFA Super Cup: - Man Utd v Zenit Premiership: Arsenal v Newcastle - Bolton v WBA - Everton v Portsmouth - Hull v Wigan - Middlesbrough v Stoke - West Ham v Blackburn - Aston Villa v Liverpool - Chelsea v Spurs - Sunderland v Man City La Liga: Deportivo v Real Madrid - Numancia v Barcelona - Valencia v Mallorca Serie A: Sampdoria v Inter - Fiorentina v Juventus - Roma v Napoli Bundesliga: Leverkusen v Hoffenheim - Bayern v Hertha Ligue 1: Marseille v Sochaux - St Etienne v Lyon Superliga: Benfica v FC Porto SPL: Celtic v Rangers