Goals have been easy to come by for Grimsby so far this season, with The Mariners scoring in every competitive game they have played. Four of their six games have seen three goals or more scored, and in one of the games that didn’t reach that threshold, Grimsby alone recorded 2.9 xG. They’ve also conceded in four of the six games, and that should be on the cards again with Premier League opposition coming to town.

United’s two outings so far have failed to cover this bet. But the combined xG in both games was over 3.0, so an upturn in finishing ability or a poorer standard of goalkeeping should do the trick. You would think it would be a rotated United side, with the likes of Joshua Zirkzee and Kobbie Mainoo looking to prove their worth.

David Artell, the Grimsby boss, always sets up his teams to go on the offensive, and against a fragile Manchester United side in a one-off game, I can’t see him doing things differently.

Benjamin Sesko has been kept on the sidelines up until this point by Ruben Amorim, with his two appearances against Fulham and Arsenal amounting to just 62 minutes. It’s clear that he needs some time to adapt to the pace and the intensity of the Premier League, but United’s next few games against Grimsby and Burnley offer Sesko a chance to get himself on the scoresheet and lift some of the pressure he is currently under. 

Sesko netted 21 goals across his 45 appearances for RB Leipzig across all competitions last season, with four of those goals coming in four appearances in the DFB Pokal. United may have only scored one goal so far this season, but they are creating quite a few chances. United have registered an xG of 3.15 across their opening two games of the Premier League season, which would indicate that Sesko should get some decent service here, at least you’d hope so with the quality of opposition United are lining up against. 

Grimsby have only managed to keep one clean sheet across their last five matches across all competitions, which would suggest that United should get quite a few chances here. I’d imagine United will score at least three goals here, they’re priced at 1.73 to reach that mark, and I’d back Sesko to be one of the goalscorers in that.

Grimsby have picked up just seven yellow cards across their opening five games of the League Two season (1.4 per game). We can expect this to increase here, seeing as they are playing against players that compete at a much higher level and move the ball much quicker as a result. 

Despite Grimsby’s modest card totals so far in League Two this season, they did pick up 86 yellow cards and three red cards in the 24/25 League Two campaign (1.93 per game). This is more of a reliable indicator of the number of cards Grimsby will receive here when factoring in the quality of the opposition and the intensity of the occasion.

Manchester United have remained pretty consistent when it comes to corners despite the turmoil which has engulfed the club over the last few seasons (being generous). They had six corners last time out against Fulham and ended up scoring from one of those, this could prove to be a valuable route to goal for United again if Grimsby manage to frustrate them. 

United also racked up three corners on the opening day of the season against Arsenal. We can expect Ruben Amorim’s side to have most of the ball here and keep Grimsby penned back, which should result in the Premier League side winning at least six corners as they attempt to break the Mariners down.

22-year-old midfielder Evan Khouri had a breakout season in 2024/25, featuring in every league game for the club where he came through the academy. Khouri is a left-footed box-to-box midfielder who can do a bit of everything. 

He averaged 0.9 shots per 90 in League Two last season, scoring three goals in the process. He has doubled his shots per 90 output in the small sample size we have to go on for this campaign, and already scored three goals. 

He is priced at 1.73 to attempt a shot in this game, which I think is a price based on last season's figures rather than the increased attacking numbers he has put up this season.

If Ruben Amorim goes with, the now second-string, Andre Onana between the sticks, his lack of confidence may be preyed upon by The Mariners and a shoot-on-sight policy employed, which midfielders like Khouri stand to profit from.

Harry Maguire should get his first start of the season for Manchester United if Ruben Amorim opts to rotate his side, which seems quite likely given that the Reds have a Premier League match just three days later.

Maguire has had experience of the lower leagues of English football when he was coming through the ranks at Sheffield United, so he will be no stranger to the kind of challenges and atmosphere he is likely to encounter at Blundell Park.

Nevertheless, he won’t have enjoyed sitting on the bench for the first couple of games of the season and will want to impress here, and I think he and United’s defence could be in for a stern test in Lincolnshire.

He’ll likely be up against Jaze Kabia, a livewire stepping up from non-league who has already scored three goals and it could have been five with two missed penalties. He’s winning 1.5 fouls per 90, whilst another option is veteran Danny Rose who is a master at drawing fouls, having won 2.4 per 90 last season.

Only Denver Hume (nine) picked up more yellow cards for Grimsby last season than Kieran Green (eight). Hume has moved on to Fleetwood Town over the summer, leaving Green as the most likely Grimsby player to pick up a card in this EFL Cup clash. 

Kieran Green also received a red card to go alongside the eight yellow cards he received last season. He lines up in the middle of the park for Grimsby and has committed four fouls across his four games of the League Two season so far (1.04 per 90). He averaged 2.16 fouls committed per 90 across his 39 appearances in League Two last season, so he is a player that regularly tests the patience of the referee. 

Green is likely to line up against Joshua Zirkzee, who should get the nod to start here as one of the number 10s just behind Sesko. Zirkzee averaged 0.84 fouls won per 90 in the Premier League last season, and could be supported in his role by Kobbie Mainoo, who averaged 1.14 fouls won per 90 across his 25 Premier League appearances last season.