Manchester City v Manchester United
02 October 1400hrs
Football – England – Premier League
Pick Man United AH+1.75
Bookmaker bet365
Odds: 1.70 odds taken 0657 GMT, Saturday 1st October
The Premier League action returns this weekend after the international break and Sunday afternoon brings us the first instalment of this season’s Manchester derby between Manchester City and Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium with not only bragging rights at stake but also a valuable three points on offer for both teams who’ll be keen to pick up where they left off just before the international break, in order to further boost their positions near the top of the Premier League table.
Table of Contents
Manchester City Preview – Can Citizens extend unbeaten start?
A solid seven-match unbeaten run has handed Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side a promising start to this new Premier League campaign and the hosts currently occupy 2nd place in the table and just one point behind the early front-runners, Arsenal, prior to this weekend’s action in the English top flight.
Manchester City have collected five wins out of their opening seven league games of this new term which consists of victories against West Ham 2-0, Bournemouth 4-0, Crystal Palace 4-2, Nottingham Forest 6-0 and a resounding 3-0 win away from home at Wolves just before the break, whilst racking up a total of 19 goals in the process.
City’s unbeaten start to this new season follows on from their solid run-in towards the end of the last campaign as well, which saw Guardiola’s side put together a decisive 12-game unbeaten sequence which eventually proved to be enough to fend off Liverpool’s spirited challenge and crown Manchester City as Premier League champions by the slender margin of just a single point.
The hosts have also won their last seven home games on the trot on home soil at the Etihad Stadium as goals have continued to gush from their attacking personnel, scoring a total of 30 goals across these seven victories and the addition of new signing, Erling Haaland, has seen the Norwegian striker plunder a total of 11 league goals already.
However, this upcoming Manchester tussle with their neighbours, United, usually provides the hosts with a much tougher challenge and indeed, City have actually won just three out of the previous seven meetings between the two clubs in recent exchanges.
Guardiola has concerns over defender John Stones who limped off in England’s match against Germany while midfielder, Kalvin Phillips, also remains sidelined after shoulder surgery. Defender, Aymeric Laporte, is expected to return to the squad though following a knee injury while Kyle Walker is also expected to return to the squad for this local derby.
Manchester United Preview – Can Red Devils win five on the trot?
Following a worrying start to this new Premier League season under new manager, Erik ten Hag, which saw Manchester United slip to defeats in each of their opening two games of the new campaign, suffering losses against Brighton 2-1 at home and the resounding 4-0 defeat away from home at Brentford, United have since seemingly clicked into gear.
Victories over old foes, Liverpool, 2-1 at home were followed by wins against Southampton, Leicester City and Arsenal, the latter being a heavy 3-1 defeat over the league leading Gunners at Old Trafford just before the international break, so United, like their local rivals City, would also have wanted the season to continue without the break.
Manager, ten Hag, has been using Cristiano Ronaldo as an impact player off the bench in recent times and this is expected to continue on Sunday unless Marcus Rashford isn’t fully fit, but having won their last two away games on the trot in the domestic top flight, the Red Devils look to stand a decent chance of getting something out of this local derby against their ‘noisy neighbours’ on Sunday.
Of course, it’s true that United had previously slipped to seven defeats in a row on their travels beforehand, conceding a total of 21 goals and managing to score just 2 goals in reply in the process, but ten Hag’s steadying influence at the helm is now starting to reap dividends and the visitors look a totally different prospect than they did under the previous manager, Ralf Rangnick, or indeed, the latter stages of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s tenure.
In addition, Manchester United have suffered just one defeat out of their last four visits to the Etihad Stadium and this will give ten Hag’s a welcome boost ahead of what is expected to be a keenly fought contest for supremacy of Manchester on Sunday afternoon.
United are expected to be without the services of Martin Dubravka, Donny van de Beek, Brandon Williams and Aaron Wan-Bissaka for this clash, while defender Harry Maguire is likely to be relegated to the bench once again after appearing for England on Monday night.
Don’t miss out on other Betting Tips & Predictions
Click here for more Betting Tips
Manchester City v Manchester United
Key Facts – Manchester City v Manchester United Tip
- Manchester City are unbeaten in their last 19 matches overall
- Manchester City have won their last 7 home games on the trot
- Manchester United have won 3 of their last 4 away games at Man City
The Manchester derby is always a keenly anticipated fixture in the English top flight calendar and this Sunday is sure to be no exception, particularly as Manchester City striker Haaland is bidding to become the first ever player to score hat-tricks in each of the last three home games in Premier League history, while United will be seeking to capture a fifth league win on the trot, so this game has all the hallmarks of being another potential classic.
The best betting odds for Manchester City v Manchester United
Man City to win: 1.33 at bet365
Draw: 5.75 at bet365
Man Utd to win: 7.50 at bet365
