Manchester City head across town to face Manchester United on Saturday in what is likely to be an explosive EPL showdown at Old Trafford.
Derby day expectations
You will need some popcorn at the ready as you settle down to watch the 188th competitive meeting between these two storied rivals, and there will be no inch given. Although City suffered disappointment in midweek when they were dumped out of the EFL Cup by Southampton, ending Pep Guardiola’s remarkable run of 15 straight quarter-final wins in domestic cup competitions, they will be looking to close the gap on Arsenal. A victory would move the reigning EPL champions within two points of the Gunners, who lock horns with Tottenham on Sunday. Manchester United, meanwhile, look rejuvenated under Erik ten Hag, and they have reeled off eight wins on the trot in all competitions, with Marcus Rashford taking all the plaudits.
Ahead of the game, we have disseminated a few stats that are worth bearing in mind:
- No side has beaten United more often than City at Old Trafford in the EPL with Guardiola’s men registering eight wins.
- Rashford became the first player since Wayne Rooney in March 2010 to net in eight home games in a row for the Red Devils.
- United are hoping to avoid the ignominy of four successive EPL derby defeats against City since November 2014.
- Guardiola will reach a significant milestone as he will take charge of his 500th top-flight league game as a manager — the Manchester derby will be his 246th EPL game with City, while he overlooked 152 La Liga games with Barcelona and 102 Bundesliga clashes with Bayern Munich.
Naturally, the Manchester derby will garner plenty of interest from a raft of top US online betting sites. To navigate you through this fixture, we have picked out a few juicy tips for you to mull over.
Man City to edge out neighbors
It’s fair to say that City have been rampant against United with the past three encounters seeing Guardiola’s charges plundering home 12 goals. In the corresponding fixture back in October, City stormed to a 6-3 win, and it was the all-time highest scoring competitive Manchester derby match with nine goals. Intriguingly, it was the first time in the EPL that City had scored six goals at home to United and they were simply irresistible that day.
The defeat seemed to be the trigger or the desired wake-up call for United, who are now in the race for the top four, and they are just four points adrift of their rivals. Ten Hag’s men seem to be more cohesive in attack, and that is partly down to the superb form of Rashford, who has scored in each of his past three league games, and he will keep City on their toes. This could well be a pulsating affair with plenty of chances created at either end, but one that City could take the honors. If you are feeling bold and wish to delve into the Correct Score section, then FanDuel has obliged with odds of +700 for City to pinch a 2-1 win.
Erling Haaland to make timely contribution
Invariably, Erling Haaland makes a difference whenever he plays for City. With 21 goals in the EPL to date, he has been frightening, averaging a goal every 62 minutes. The breather he had with not participating in the World Cup seems to have done him the world of good, and his feats seem to indicate he could well smash the current record for most goals scored in a single EPL season (34) which is held by Ruud van Nistelrooy and Mohamed Salah.
Haaland has been electric and in his previous appearance against United, he terrorized Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane, netting a hat-trick. No City player in EPL history has ever scored two or more goals in both meetings with United in a single campaign, so that would be something if the Norwegian hitman managed to do so. However, he could still get on the scoresheet, and for those interested in the Goalscorer markets, Haaland is at a short -120 with FanDuel to score anytime which shouldn’t be ignored.
Man City to rack up corner count
With the wealth of attacking talent at their disposal, City will look to harry United from the opening whistle. United will need to be switched on and they will need to defend set-pieces well, as City could well rack up the corner count during the 90 minutes. The past four meetings between the two sides has seen City pick up at least five corners, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them do the same this weekend. The corner market at PointsBet has advertised odds of -240 for City to land Over 4.5 corners which is certainly worth following up on.
