Manchester City v Manchester United Betting Preview

Even though they have been inconsistent this season, both of the Manchester clubs sit at the top of the Premier League table, comfortably ahead of third placed Chelsea.

Both United and City lost 1-0 in the middle of the week in the Champions League.  Manchester United fielded a weakened team after already qualifying from the group stages for their home tie against Cluj. Sir Alex Ferguson made ten changes from the team that beat Reading 4-3 last weekend, with only Wayne Rooney keeping his place in the side at Old Trafford. In contrast to this, City fielded one of the strongest teams possible for their away trip to Dortmund in search of a win, with the hope of securing a Europa league spot. However, City looked lethargic going forward and offered little against a much-changed Dortmund team and were made to pay for their somewhat unimpressive performance in a second half that Dortmund controlled.

Manchester City last five league matches: DWDWW

In regards to their recent Premier League form, both teams are performing well and haven’t lost in their last three matches. Manchester City have been very inconsistent in front of goal this season and have been lacklustre defensively, meaning they currently sit three points behind United in the league.  But having said this, Manchester City remain the only team in the league who have yet to lose a game, an impressive record considering they have played away at Chelsea and Liverpool and hosted Tottenham, Everton and Arsenal.

However, City have found it hard to score against the so called bigger teams this season. They have only managed a total of two goals when playing against Arsenal, Everton and Chelsea. This could be a problem again of Sunday as City have now only scored four goals in their last five matches in all competitions. This is extremely surprising given that they have Tevez, Aguero and Dzeko up front. City have relied heavily on these three big-money strikers to get the goals for them this season; Tevez has netted seven times, Dzeko six times and Aguero five times.

Other players have scored very few goals this season and it has been the creating chances side of things where Manchester City have struggled this season, partly to do with missing catalyst David Silva. Silva is likely to start this game after missing the midweek tie against Dortmund through Injury.

Manchester United last five league matches:  WWWLW

Manchester United have won eight of their last nine Premier League matches, only failing to beat Norwich four games ago, where they eventually lost the match 1-0. Although United have been conceding freely this season, they have been extremely impressive in front of goal scoring eight goals in their last three league matches.

Wayne Rooney and Robin Van Persie have formed a menacing partnership this season. Robin Van Persie has hit the ground running since his summer move from Arsenal scoring 10 goals in 15 league matches, whereas Wayne Rooney has only scored 5 having dropped to a more supportive role behind the Dutchman. These two offer a very strong attacking partnership that has the capabilities of causing any defence problems. If United are going to come away from the Etihad with a positive result then these two players are going to play a vital role.

Betting Prediction:

This match will have many people think that it will be a thrilling encounter with two great attacking teams going head to head, but in fact could be a boring game. It is likely that both Mancini and Sir Alex will tell their full backs not to push forward as they would usually do against other teams. Because of this the game will be played in the middle of the park and may see the two teams shut each other down and thus making the game one with few chances. Therefore the most likely source of a goal may be from a set piece, the same method that won this fixture last year when Kompany rose highest.  The odds point in the direction of goals but the stats think otherwise. This may look a difficult game for punters on paper but backing unders on goals could be a great bet.

• Van Persie to score and United to win @ 6/1 with William Hill

Robin Van Persie is Manchester United’s top goal scorer this season with ten goals in his opening fifteen league matches. The Dutchman is also coming into this match after scoring in his last two league matches and will be full of confidence. He is also likely to be United’s main attacking threat playing just in front of Wayne Rooney and with the support from Anderson and Young he is sure to get his chance to score. Further to this, City have not been defensively solid this season and are likely to concede against an impressive United side and Van Persie is the likely man to score. Because of this a Van Persie win-cast at enhanced odds of 6/1 offers fantastic value for punters.

• Under 2.5 goals @ 23/20 with William Hill

Over 2.5 goals at as short as 13/20 seems a ludicrous bet, given how the way these two teams are likely to shape up. Further to this, in the last six meeting between these two sides at the Etihad there has not been more than one goal in any of those games. Under 2.5 goals at 23/20 looks to be where the value is at regarding goals. Also a bet at 0-0 at half time at odds of 9/4 looks good.

Score Prediction: Manchester City 0-1 Manchester United @ 11/1

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Article by Mark Stefanyszyn

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