27th April 2017 Kickoff: 2000hrs Manchester City v Manchester United – Football – England – Premier League When the fixture list was drawn up last summer many would have looked to the second Manchester derby of the season as being a possible title decider due to how late it would be played in the campaign. A potential battle between old foes Guardiola and Mourinho –dueling to win their first title with these clubs. As we know now, that is not the way it has transpired and two of the giants of English football are not only lagging behind Chelsea at the top, they’re also faltering in their efforts to finish in the top four. City hold the narrowest of leads with a single point advantage meaning it is all to play for at the Etihad on Thursday.
There’s no getting away from the fact that it has been a disappointing first term in charge for Guardiola at Manchester City. The Premier League has looked beyond them since before the turn of the year, they were eliminated from the League Cup by their city rivals in the early stages, were unable to see out their last 16 tie with Monaco despite holding lead from the first leg and to cap things off Sunday seen them knocked out of the FA Cup at the semi final stage by an Arsenal side who have been awful of late. The expectation was huge when the new head coach arrived and although it was naïve to think that he would somehow be able to wave a magic wand, the return has not been good enough all things considered. Failure to finish in the top four and not participating in the Champions League next season would be almost catastrophic for the club’s long terms ambitions, and there’s a very real chance that could yet happen if they are unable to find the three points on Thursday.
United have not been regarded as a title contender since the very early stages of this season – if ever – which is not all that surprising when you think about the mess that Mourinho inherited. That said, the former Chelsea boss was backed with a huge transfer budget and that certainly seemed to increase supporters’ hopes that they could be able to win their first title since 2013. There have been encouraging signs at times with a long unbeaten record in the league still going and the League Cup triumph back in February also a highlight. The Reds continued their success in cup competitions with an extra time win over Anderlecht in the Europa League last week but that game was indicative of their season to date. Despite scoring first and looking superior to their opponent, Mourinho’s men did not have the killer instinct and missed a plethora of chances to make it much easier on themselves. The game also contained a couple of really sour episodes as both Marcos Rojo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic picking up season ending injuries. Both players had enjoyed excellent seasons but it’s up to their colleagues to finish the season by clinching a top four spot and winning the Europa League.
City’s inconsistency is there for all to see and it has been for the majority of the campaign. Since the turn of the year they have played 13 games in the Premier League, winning seven and drawing four. What they have been unable to do is string a run of eight or nine consecutive wins together which they should be capable of with the quality in their squad. With six games left that sort of run has to be the aim for the remainder of the season having won their last two against Hull and Southampton. You would struggle to be confident about their ability to do that, though, such is the fragility of certain areas of their team – particularly in defence.
I alluded to United’s unbeaten Premier League run earlier and it has to be admired, especially as they have not entirely convinced for parts of that. Since losing heavily to Chelsea at the end of October, the Old Trafford club have not tasted defeat in their last 23 league games – winning 13 of those. There have been far too many draws, of course, but it’s at least a step in direction and something to build on not only for the rest of this season, but also with a view to next year when they will hope to be much closer to the top. Mourinho will also take great confidence from the fact that they have played Chelsea, Tottenham, Liverpool, Everton (twice) and Arsenal during that spell and none have been good enough to walk away with three points.
Manchester City v Manchester United Betting Tip
This will be the third meeting of the season between City and United and the score currently stands at 1-1. When City ran out deserved winners at Old Trafford back in September it appeared to be a big step towards establishing themselves as the most likely winners of the league and consigned United to hope for top four. The latter of those observations was accurate but City are now very much in the same position. Due to how tight the situation is at the moment from third to sixth, Thursday’s game will not be decisive but it will be a psychological advantage if one of them can get the win.
City’s main issue this term has been in defence and it’s an issue that continues to blight them despite Guardiola attempting new systems and formations. Only on three occasions (from 15) have City prevented the opposition from scoring at home in the league which is an awful record for a team who hoped to be winning the title. Whilst United have struggled in front of goal they have an excellent record on their travels, failing to score just twice from their 15 away games. Looking at that alone would suggest that an away win may well seem good value but the visitors have not won away to any of the top seven this season. With that in mind, I think the safest option would be to back both teams to score in this one.
Both teams to score 4/5 @ Betfair
