Manchester City Vs Manchester United
Wednesday 29th January 2020 – 19:45 Kick-Off
English League Cup (EFL Cup)
Pick: Manchester City Win to Nil
Odds: 11/8
Bookmaker: BetVictor
(All betting odds displayed in this article were correct at time of writing: 27th January 2020 at 15:10)
Preview: The second semi-final has a rather more straightforward feel to it, with Manchester City taking a commanding 3-1 lead to The Etihad for Wednesday’s clash with Manchester United. Surely Solskjaer’s men aren’t capable of producing another major upset?
EFL Cup Betting at 22Bet
Table of Contents
Manchester City Preview – The Citizens to ram home advantage?
Pep Guardiola is on the cusp of creating more history in Manchester. Should his Man City side reach the final of the League Cup in March, which is looking increasingly likely after securing a commanding 3-1 scoreline at Old Trafford first time around, the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach will become the first manager since Bob Paisley, in the early 1980’s, to win this tournament in three consecutive seasons. WilliamHill make them 2/7 to do so and just 1/200 to qualify.
The Spanish tactician has, however, been powerless to prevent his team from imploding on more than the odd occasion this term. Five defeats in 24 league games is nearly double the figure incurred during 2018/19. Meanwhile, even fortress Etihad has lost some of its aura following defeats to Wolves and Man Utd. On the other hand, though, only Liverpool (22) have claimed more wins than their 16. Saturday’s 4-0 romp in the FA Cup at home to Fulham extended their excellent current run to seven wins in eight (W7 D1).
Even the defending has improved, keeping back-to-back clean sheets for the first time since September. Although prior to this it had been five without one, and over an even longer period only two shutouts across twenty encounters in all competitions. Putting all this information together, Man City Win & Both Teams to Score might prove a popular wager at 9/5 (Betfair). Especially with the likes of De Bruyne, Sterling and Aguero held back at the weekend with this fixture specifically in mind.
Manchester United Preview – Solskjaer refusing to wave white flag?
Upon losing the first-leg 3-1 at Old Trafford, Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer immediately went on the defensive. That screamed irony to me, because that same energy was badly needed in his team’s defending on the night. Since then the Norwegian has incurred ridicule on social media for trying to put a positive spin on their opponents fielding a reasonably strong line-up versus his boys, as his attempts to fend off more critics following another abysmal performance reached new depths of insanity.
Marcus Rashford’s late goal acted as more than a mere consolation, though, instead bridging the deficit to something not entirely beyond reach but enough to constitute as their biggest comeback for quite some time. For some context, United won 2-1 at this same venue during a league encounter in December. That was considered a major upset at the time and yet that same scoreline – which flattered Solskjaer’s men, convincingly losing the xG battle 1.47 to 2.57 – would not suffice on Wednesday.
Furthermore, there is no compensating for the huge loss of Marcus Rashford, who continues his recovery from a back problem. The forward’s 19 goals across all competitions is a leading figure at the club, but, more importantly, his ability to stretch opponents out wide will negate some of United’s biggest strength: the counter-attack. Recent blanks in league defeats to Liverpool and Burnley suggest scoring at The Etihad won’t be straightforward, let alone twice.
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Betting Summary
Last season, Man Utd fought back from a two-goal deficit to oust PSG from the Champions League in Paris. For me, this is far tougher. Man City were rampant for the first half at Old Trafford and appeared to ease off thereafter, which allowed United to creep back into the contest and score. With a host of key players rested at the weekend and Aymeric Laporte returning to bolster a defence seeking a third straight clean sheet, I expect the hosts to comfortably see the tie out.
Manchester City Vs Manchester United – Key Facts:
- Across their past eight matches in all competitions, Man City won seven and drawn once.
- Just one of Man Utd‘s last nine games featured both teams scoring.
- Man Utd have managed to avoid defeat on four of their previous five visits to The Etihad (W3 D1 L1).
A combination of City tightening up defensively and United probably adopting their tried-and-trusted 3-5-2 formation for the big games, means we could be in for a low-scoring affair. Particularly as United have looked devoid of ideas in attack lately (scoring ten combined versus Norwich and Tranmere but producing blanks versus the more organised Liverpool and Burnley). Man City & Under 3.5 Goals appeals at 11/8 (Betway).
Best Betting Odds for Man City Vs Man Utd
Man City – 1/3 BetFred
Draw – 5/1 Betway
Man Utd – 9/1 Ladbrokes
