Manchester United v Sunderland Betting Tip & Odds: Last year’s 2-0 win for the Red Devils seems about the right result again this time around. It may deteriorate into a bit of a midfield battle at Old Trafford, but would still look for the Red Devils to take the three points. Think the best option for value is to go and look in the First Goalscorer market, where Wayne Rooney is 10/3 at Bet365. He has to be due a goal, and may be fresh from his midfield role in the Champions League in the week.
Manchester United to win: 1/4 at Bet365
Draw: 11/2 at Victor Chandler
Sunderland to win: 14/1 at Blue Square
EPL Match Preview: All of sudden this season, a home match for Manchester United doesn’t look too much of an interesting prospect. Why? Well that is because of the attacking flair and power that Manchester City are proving to be far more proficient at, and both Chelsea and Arsenal are full of entertainment, but no necessarily for the right reasons. Manchester United have dropped into something of a consolidation mode, and their battering against Man City appears to have given them a wake up call that they need to sacrifice offensive swagger for defensive duties. In a season of poor defences so far (Man City and Newcastle aside), it may prove to be a smart move in the long run for Sir Alex Ferguson. You would think that against Sunderland, Manchester United should be able to focus on a little bit more attack as they have a pretty good record against the Black Cats. Will a fluent Manchester United turn up, or will they grind out another result like they did at Everton and at home against Otelul Galati in the Champions League? Will Sunderland be really able to kick start their season with a hard earned win at Old Trafford?
Manchester United Form: Sir Alex Ferguson’s men have picked themselves up well after their humiliation against rivals Man City. Following that loss, the Red Devils have found themselves trailing City by five points at the top of the table. After starting the season with a great deal of swagger and power, including that 8-2 win over Arsenal, something has happened to them. They no longer are playing with that same conviction, that same fluency or dominance. It may coincide with Wayne Rooney’s goals having dried up, as the England striker has not hit a Premier League goals since United’s 3-1 win over Chelsea on September 18th. That is now five matches without a goal for Rooney, and in that period, the Red Devils have drawn two, lost one (could easily have been two against Liverpool) and won two. Not the great form which they showed when they raced out of the gates with five straight wins. That confidence has gone, but they are still to be banked on to get the job done when it matters. Ferguson has tinkered with his squad quite a bit this season, which is understandable as he is fighting on three different fronts at the moment. The Carling Cup sides and the Champions League sides have really lacked a great deal of invention and conviction, and you look across Manchester and see an incredibly strong squad at Eastlands. There doesn’t seem to be the same depth of quality at Old Trafford though, but they have the big ace up their sleeve of Sir Alex Ferguson, who is celebrating 25 years at Old Trafford. You know that United will be close to the top come the end of the season, but after a defensive and dull display at Goodison Park where they earned a 1-0 win in their last Premier League match, they could do with a good, cohesive, confidence boosting performance. At Old Trafford this season in the league, United have won four and lost one, so that’s an 80% success rate which is nothing to be sneezed at. They are on a home streak of 5 matches without a draw at Old Trafford, and they have scored in all five of their home matches in the league this season. While Rooney has disappeared, United aren’t struggling to find the net at home, as they have hit 17 in their five matches, but consider that 8 of those came in one match. But still, that is a 3.4 goals per game average at Old Trafford this season. United have only kept clean sheets in 40% of their home games, and with scoring first in 80% of all their matches, you can expect them to find a way through Sunderland at some point. United’s most profitable period of games have been in the final fifteen minutes of matches. Rooney is top scorer for the club with nine goals, while Javier Hernandez has backed up with 4, and Danny Welbeck and Nani have weighed in with three each.
Sunderland Form: It has been more of a struggle for Sunderland this season than expected, and they won’t be relishing a trip to Old Trafford at the moment. The Black Cats are down in 14th place in the league, with just two wins on the season. With manager Steve Bruce having been so busy over the summer bringing in new personnel, it was projected that Sunderland would be lined up for a pretty solid season, especially after having brought in ex United duo of Wes Brown and John O’Shea at the back. It took Sunderland five matches to record their first win of the season, and they have only managed one more since then. It is not that is has all be terrible for Sunderland, as they have earned themselves four draws, they just haven’t been able to adopt that killer instinct and finish off teams, or hang on to positive positions. They looked pretty lost at times in terms of a game plan at the start of the season, but they have now remained unbeaten in their last two matches, and so things may be about to turn the corner. But the last place you want to go to while trying to build up form, is Old Trafford. Away from the Stadium of Light this season, Sunderland have won one, drew two and lost two this season, so it doesn’t look as if there is too much potential for them picking up a win at Old Trafford on the weekend. Sunderland haven’t had an away draw in their last three matches, and combined with United not drawing at home this season, a draw seems unlikely for your betting. Sunderland have netted five and conceded five goals on their travels this season, so don’t look as if they really have the kind of offensive power to trouble United. The Black Cats have only managed to score fist in 20% of their matches, and if they fall behind at Old Trafford, then there will be problems. The goals just are not flowing from Sunderland, with Larsson top scoring with three, ahead of two each for Sessegnon and Bendtner. Sunderland have lost twice away from home by a 2-1 scoreline, their most frequent result. While an away win at Bolton and a home draw against Aston Villa (in which they needed a late equaliser) may have given them a platform to build on, but at Old Trafford points will be hard to come by.
Head to Head: At Old Trafford, there have been 65 meetings between United and Sunderland, with United winning 36 of those matches, which equates to a 55% success rate in this fixture. Last year’s corresponding fixture ended in a 2-0 win for Manchester United and looks a fair result for this time around. United have won three of the last four matches at home against the Black Cats, with a 2-2 draw breaking the run. One worrying trend for Sunderland is the fact that they haven’t scored against United in their last three meetings.
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