Manchester United v Sunderland Betting Tip & Odds: Some stats will sum this one up, as the match looks to have a little gloss on it that will need wiping away. Sunderland have only scored one goal in their last four Boxing Day fixtures. Man Utd have only lost once on Boxing Day (in Premier League fixtures). United have only lost one of their last twenty Premier League matches at home, winning 18 of them. Manchester United also are the leaders in not conceding shots against themselves, and against a Sunderland side which aren’t prolific, this all points to a United home win. We could go on. In three of their last five matches, United have score 90th minute goals against Sunderland. You have to go all the way back to 1968 to find the last victory for Sunderland at Old Trafford! Sunderland are sixth in the league, but there really is not much to suggest that they are going to raid OT for a win. United are strong at the moment, and they should be fresh after a long rest. The best question for your betting on this one, is whether the visitors are good for a draw or not? They are stubborn and organised enough to be so, and did limit United to only one shot when they met at the Stadium of Light. Best option may be to look for a Sunderland supremacy in the Asian Handicap – try +0.75 for 11/5 at Bet365. It’s a little on the line really, but worth a punt for the odds, simply because of the coverage.
Sunderland to win: 12/1 at Victor Chandler
Draw: 9/2 at Skybet
Manchester United to win: 2/7 at Bet365
EPL Match Preview: This should be a bit of a war of attrition. Sunderland have an unbeaten record at the Stadium of Light this year, winning five and drawing four of their matches there. However, on the road, they have only managed one win, but there is a much better resiliency about Sunderland this year under Steve Bruce, and they have managed to find a little more consistency as opposed to last season. It is a pretty good time to be a Sunderland fan, who have only had to suffer three defeats all season long in the Premier League. Striker Darren Bent is up to his old tricks again, with seven goals on the season, and the acquisition of Asamoah Gyan, along with Danny Welbeck, has really given Sunderland a new leash of life. They are an incredibly hard working side and very well disciplined, sticking to their defensive tasks, but not afraid to have a go at any team. When they went to Stamford Bridge recently, they put in one of the best performances of all teams, all season, hammering Chelsea 3-0. That really has capped a fine season, and shows the potential which they have on the day, to be able to beat the best. When Manchester United went to Sunderland earlier in the season, they had to settle with coming away with a point. Sunderland have not lost to any of the five teams currently above them in the Premier League, and that really shows how much they have come on.
Now they head to Old Trafford on Boxing Day, led of course by former Manchester United defensive star Steve Bruce. Bruce has done a pretty good, solid job in a relatively short amount of time, and now almost half way through the season, there comes the tough part where teams often fall away. Sunderland though, looks as if they have enough about them to stay well in the top half of the table at the end of the season. Yes, they are sitting in sixth place at the moment, but there are no real expectations of them pushing on for a Champions League place or anything. They are not at that level, not yet at least. Sunderland go to Old Trafford on the back of three match unbeaten run. They were one of the few teams to avoid the big freeze out last weekend, and held on to scrape a 1-0 home victory over high flying Bolton. Sunderland did ride their luck a bit in that one, and Bolton really didn’t get out of second gear until the final ten minutes of the match. Sunderland keeper Craig Gordon also pulled off one of the most miraculous saves, ever in the Premier League. It’s worth going and having a look at if you haven’t seen it already. The success of Sunderland really has been built on their defence. They will need to be at their best again on Boxing Day, as they try to negate the threat of the home side. Sunderland should be pretty good value for a draw though. Yes, they went and stuffed Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Will they do the same at Old Trafford? Unlikely.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s men have had their feet up for a while now with their last two matches being called off. The big clash against Chelsea was the biggest casualty of last weekend, but United will be happy with the postponements, because they are still top of the Premier League having played less games than those chasing them. It’s a strong position for Manchester United at the moment, and you really have to back them to capitalise upon it. This could be a tough match for United, and if this were on the road, then you consider Sunderland stealing all three points. However, this is Old Trafford, where United have dropped only two points all season. There is also the interesting record of Manchester United winning 13 of their 16 matches (drawing two and losing one) played on Boxing Day, since beginning of the Premier League. The one big strength that Manchester United’s season has been built upon, just like Sunderland, is their defence. They have only conceded two goals in their last five matches at home, and while they have bent on the road, they haven broken. They have a strength at the back which allows them to grind out results, just as they did in their 1-0 victory over Arsenal. United don’t have the old flair, the old power and force that dominated for so long, but they are still so incredibly hard to beat, having not lost a game all season. The only side in the country to remain undefeated.
United’s most creative player Nani, has been talking trash about the other title rivals, saying that only Chelsea are worthy contenders. Apparently Arsenal or Manchester City are not going to be able to win the league. United are getting things going in that daunting way of theirs. Sounds like he has come out from Patrice Evra’s shadow to mimic taunting Arsenal, and odd that he says he is only doing well because Ronaldo isn’t at the club anymore. He doesn’t have a lot of faith in himself that he would have been better than Ronaldo really. Anyway, although they aren’t as great going forward (not helped by Nani’s inconsistency), and not as naturally talented in the middle as they have been, United still remain the ones to beat. United have been held twice of their last five matches against Sunderland, to a draw, but the other three encounters have ended in United wins, and that really is worth just backing them at home against Sunderland. Because Sunderland are going well, there will be slightly better odds on United winning outright than against other teams, and would make a good building block for an accumulator. May not be a classic, may not be winning by a big margin, but at this stage, it doesn’t matter about the margin.
Online Bookmaker Promotion: Manchestser United have had two 0-0 away draws this season, and if you have any goalscorer bet on this match and it ends up as scoreless draw, then Stan James will give you a refund on those lost bets. We all know how good Sunderland have been at the back, and we all know how good United are in defence. Will the two cancel each other out at Old Trafford. With greats odds, this Stan James money back special is a great ongoing promotion from them. As a new customer to Stan James you can also get a £25 free bet when you open an account with them.
Manchester United v Sunderland Premier League Betting Statistics
Last 5 Head to Head
Sunderland 0, Manchester United 0
Sunderland 0, Manchester United 1
Manchester United 2, Sunderland 2
Sunderland 1, Manchester United 2
Manchester united 1, Sunderland 0
Manchester United have a 89% win percentage at home in the league this season
Sunderland have an 11% win percentage away from home in the league this season
Manchester United are on a streak of 9 home matches without defeat, five match winning streak
Sunderland are on a streak of 2 away matches with no win
Manchester United have scored 25 and conceded 6 goals in their home matches
Sunderland have scored 10 goals, and conceded 13 at home
Manchester United average 2.77 goals per match at home this season
Sunderland average 1.1 goals per match at home this season
Manchester United have scored the majority of their goals in the 31-45 minute bracket
Sunderland have scored the bulk of their goals in the 76-90 minute bracket
Manchester United have scored first in 68% of their matches
Sunderland have opened the scoring in 44% of their matches
Manchester United 2010/11 top scorer: Berbatov 11 (10 at home)
Sunderland 2010/11 top scorer: Bent 7
Manchester United 2010/11 Season Form: P16 W9 D7 L0 GF36 GA16 Pts 34 (1st)
Sunderland 2010/11 Season Form: P18 W6 D9 L3 GF21 GA18 Pts 27 (6th)
