Manchester United v Manchester City Betting Preview

Man Utd – Man City, Sunday 14:30h

Place to be fear off

When we’re talking about Manchester United, there isn’t necessary to say it is the strongest collective in England. As in previous season, Sir Alex Ferguson didn’t spend a lot on the transfer market, but they look so dominant I have an impression he actually didn’t have to. His system of rotation that keeps players from fatigue works great, giving him even a luxury in the biggest derby of English football (against Liverpool, of course) to keep on the bench his iron fist – Rooney, Nani, Hernandez! But really scary thing about Man Utd is their home record. In their last 25 games at Old Trafford, they have dropped only two points with 19 wins in a row! Last four times when Man City made a visit, games ended with home wins with at least two balls in the back of their net. Interesting fact is in all of those four at least one goal was scored in last 15 minutes, three times in the stoppage time.

Great feel sitting at the top

Well, it was only the matter of time (I believed and new manager as well) when the squad consisted of such fantastic players will start to produce results. Mancini has that much options he easily rested 5-6 players against decent Aston Villa side and trashed them 4-1, eventually! After United took only a point from Liverpool, they finally occupied the top of the table. Now, that’s not necessary a big deal at this part of the season, but big morale boost certainly is. Players are full of confidence and are announcing they’ll go for a win not for a point, but the key question is what Mancini thinks about that. I am pretty sure he won’t lose his head and set an open formation, knowing that would see him finished beaten in the dust. Despite his winner in the dying seconds, Sergio Aguero looks extremely unfit playing only 30 minutes at Tuesday. So it won’t be a big surprise if Mancini drops him and set his 4-2-3-1 formation. Despite all that euphoria at Midlands, he would probably take a point with no hesitation if someone offered it now. Mancini will be prepared for a tactical battle, hoping in some moment of individual inspiration from his superstars.

Clash of the titans

This will be an absolute blockbuster and while I am counting the hours till the kick-off, I am also struggling to find a profitable bet. Individual players’ quality is definitely on City’s side, but Utd have better manager (in my honest opinion), better team spirit (even without mentioning Carlos Tevez) and play at home. It has represented a good value against any top-six side, for a while. Now, I am not quite sure Ferguson would be completely disappointed with a point. With Mancini’s predicted attitude, this could be 0-0 or 1-1 game. I will suggest two bets.

Betting Picks

Bet 1:

Draw @ 3.50 (SkyBet)

Bet 2:

Manchester City Half Time Lead And Fail To Win @ 11.00 (William Hill)