Manchester Derby: Man City vs. Man Utd Preview, Odds, Prediction

Manchester City and Manchester United meet on Sunday afternoon to decide which side rules the town. These two fierce rivals are in desperate need of a win, the Citizens because of their title race, while on the other side, United needs a win to stay in the UEFA Champions League zone and to gain some confidence. The pressure is high, as usual in these situations, yet that can’t be used as an excuse in case of a negative outcome.

Preview

Manchester City (-250) has eight victories in the last 10 games, with one defeat and one draw. They are looking quite confident without any glitches in their game and extremely confident on both ends of the field. They did lose at home to Tottenham but immediately recovered, continuing at the same pace.

When looking at home games, the Citizens had 10 straight wins before losing to the Spurs. During this eleven-game streak, Guardiola’s machinery didn’t score twice only on two occasions, while on the other side, it kept five clean sheets.

So far, according to the words of the Spaniard, everything goes well, and he is extremely pleased with the way things develop. City has a solid lead in the standings, not as high as before, but a notable one, while pushing well on all other fronts.

Manchester United (+700) didn’t lose in a while, but its fans are extremely unhappy. To be exact, the Red Devils are without a defeat in 11 consecutive clashes, but the thing is here that they don’t have too many wins either. During that stretch, United posted only five victories and six draws, one of them eventually leading to elimination from the FA Cup.

At the moment, they are coming of back-to-back draws, one in the UCL, against Atletico in Madrid, and the other at home to Watford. To be pretty clear, even though United isn’t losing, their performances are mediocre, and they tend to frustrate all the Red Devils’ fans. 

They’ve allowed at least one goal in the last six road events, though managed to deliver at least one as well. In fact, if you haven’t noticed, United scored in each road clash in this campaign, regardless of the competition.

Latest News

Ruben Dias is out for the hosts, which is a solid blow for Guardiola. Mendy, Palmer, and Steffen are out as well, and they won’t be in the protocol today.

On the other side, only Mason Greenwood and Edinson Cavani won’t be eligible to play.

Head to Head Games

The last six direct meetings ended with under 2.5 goals and just one side netting. Their first clash this year saw the Citizens triumphing at the Old Trafford, 0-2. Everything ended in the first half, with the guests from Etihad gaining a two-goal lead. Eric Bailly hit his own net after seven minutes, while Bernardo Silva sealed the victory in the closing moments of the opening half. 

Prediction

This is going to be a tough clash, as always when these two teams meet. Both managers will be cautious with conservative game plans, meaning we shouldn’t see more than two goals. City is the favorite, but betting on them carries more risk than betting on low efficiency. 

Pick: Under 2.5 goals +120