Manchester derby on a par?

It’s derby time in Manchester! It’s that time again on Sunday afternoon. The prestigious city duel between the Citizens and the Red Devils is on the agenda. While this encounter has usually been a fairly clear-cut affair in favour of the Sky Blues in the recent past, United will be looking to avoid a third successive derby defeat this coming weekend.

Erik ten Hag’s side have plenty of momentum, with the English record holders having won all four of their recent Premier League matches. Nevertheless, the stakes are naturally extremely high for the defending champions, which is why the odds are clearly in favour of the hosts ahead of the explosive encounter between Manchester City and Manchester United.

But watch out, because in the history of England’s best football league, there have been no other pairings with more away victories than the Manchester City duel. The respective visiting team has already prevailed 21 times. Nevertheless, it takes a lot of courage to take risks and certainly some imagination to make a prediction on Bruno Fernandes and Co. between Manchester City and Manchester United. After their recent performances, however, the underdogs can at least be expected to score a goal.

Manchester City – Statistics & current form

Besides Tottenham Hotspur FC, who incidentally face leaders Arsenal in an equally emotional north London derby this weekend, Manchester City are the only team in the Premier League after seven matchdays who have yet to lose. Five victories are matched by two draws. As second in the table, the gap to the Gunners is currently only one point.

Before the international break, the Citizens did not show any weakness at all and won the away match at Wolverhampton Wanderers with 3-0. After two disappointing draws away from home, Kevin de Bruyne and his colleagues got back on the road to success. Nevertheless, the defending champions will be happy to be back in front of their home crowd this Sunday.

City offence around Haaland simply unstoppable

At the Etihad Stadium, Guardiola’s eleven are still completely unblemished on the road so far. They have won all three home games in the Premier League and have scored 14 goals of their own. This, by the way, continues an outstanding streak, as the Sky Blues now have seven consecutive PL home victories, in which they have always scored at least three goals. With this in mind, it would not be very smart to bet on the visitors between Manchester City and Manchester United.

Instead, it is always worth considering betting on a higher number of goals in matches involving the runners-up. So far, 29 goals have been scored in the Citizens’ matches, i.e. an average of more than four goals per match. In addition, Pep Guardiola’s charges have the best attack in the league with 23 goals and have scored more times in both halves (ten) and two (13) than their opponents (nine).

And then, of course, there is a certain Erling Haaland, who has scored a hat-trick in his last two home games and could now become the first player in Premier League history to do so for a third successive time in front of his own fans. In any case, between Manchester City and Manchester United, the odds on the ex-Dortmund man scoring should be kept in mind.

Predicted Manchester City line-up:
Ederson – Cancelo, Aké, Dias, Walker – Gündogan, Rodri, de Bruyne – Foden, Haaland, Silva

Last matches played by Manchester City:

Premier League
17/09/2022 – Wolverhampton 0 – 3 Manchester City

Champions League Grp. G
15/09/2022 – Manchester City 2 – 1 Borussia Dortmund

07/09/2022 – FC Sevilla 0 – 4 Manchester City

Premier League
03/09/2022 – Aston Villa 1 – 1 Manchester City

01/09/2022 – Manchester City 6 – 0 Nottingham Forest

Manchester United – Statistics & current form

After a miserable start to the season with two defeats on the first two matchdays, Manchester United have not only caught on recently but have really blossomed. The Red Devils have won four Premier League games in a row. Among other things, they inflicted their first defeat on leaders Arsenal just before the international break. There was also a home win against Liverpool to celebrate.

The team of coach Erik ten Hag will travel the few kilometres to the Etihad Stadium with a broad chest and will not want to hide against the almost overpowering opponent. Statistically speaking, however, there is little hope for the Dutch coach, as each of the past five United managers, including Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho, lost their first Manchester derby.

Manchester United look more stable than they have in a long time

Somewhat more confident is the passable away record of recent weeks. The heavy 4-0 defeat at Brentford, when all goals were conceded in the first 45 minutes, was followed by three away victories in the competition. The bottom line is that keeper David de Gea has not had to clear a ball out of the net in the last seven halves. However, it is virtually impossible that the Red Devils will go without conceding a goal against the Sky Blues.

Nevertheless, we trust the visitors to score at least one goal of their own. On the one hand, they have already scored twice against the top teams Arsenal and Liverpool, on the other hand, ten Hag’s team will always be able to create good turnarounds. There is no lack of individual class in offensive players like Antony, Rashford, Fernandes or Sancho anyway.

Antony – the new star in the Premier League sky

The aforementioned Antony in particular, who was signed from Ajax Amsterdam shortly before the transfer deadline, has made a perfect debut. In the aforementioned 3:1 against the Gunners, the right-winger scored his first goal.

Should a prediction on a goal from the international also pay off in the Manchester City vs. Manchester United clash on Sunday, he would be the first Brazilian since Robinho in 2008 to score in his first two PL matches. With Rashford and Martial both out injured recently, Cristiano Ronaldo could start up front. There are also question marks over Maguire, Wan-Bissaka and van de Beek.

Predicted Manchester United line-up:
De Gea – Malacia, Martinez, Varane, Dalot – Eriksen, McTominay, Fernandes – Sancho, Ronaldo, Antony

Last matches played by Manchester United:

Europa League Grp. E
15/09/2022 – FC Sheriff 0 – 2 Manchester United

09/09/2022 – Manchester United 0 – 1 Real Sociedad

Premier League
04/09/2022 – Manchester United 3 – 1 FC Arsenal

02/09/2022 – Leicester 0 – 1 Manchester United

27/08/2022 – Southampton 0 – 1 Manchester United

Manchester City – Manchester United Direct Comparison / H2H Record

The Manchester derby is of course a true classic in England’s best football league. 154 encounters have been played between the city rivals in the top flight. The Red Devils still have the edge with 59 wins compared to 47 defeats and 48 draws. However, the difference in victories has shrunk noticeably recently.

In pre-season, for example, the Citizens won the first and second legs 2-0 and 4-1 respectively, while before that United had the upper hand on three of four occasions. In exactly half of the last ten Premier League encounters, a bet on “both sides to score” would have gone through. The 2.5 goal mark has also been exceeded on five occasions. Six away wins in the same period also underline the statistical advantage that the visiting teams obviously have in this pairing.

Manchester City – Manchester United Tip

We can look forward to what we hope will be a high class match on Sunday afternoon in the Premier League. Rarely has the starting position in the Manchester derby been as “even” as it is at the moment. Although Manchester City are the heavy favourites against Manchester United according to the betting odds, the Red Devils are no longer the cannon fodder they were in the previous season.

The English record champions have been boosted by the installation of Erik ten Hag and are brimming with confidence after four league victories in a row. Above all, the fact that two heavyweights, Arsenal and Liverpool, have also been brought to their knees is creating a good atmosphere at the global club, which has been lagging far behind its own expectations for some time now.

In view of the good performances, we believe that betting on both sides to score could pay off ahead of the Manchester City vs Manchester United match. It is almost certain that the home side will score at least once due to their incredible home strength. But Antony and Co. will also have their chances in transitional moments.

Comparable odds for a home win in combination with at least three goals in the course of the match. As a third top tip, we recommend betting on Erling Haaland to score a goal.