Man.United vs Man.City – Betting Tips and Premier League Preview

With both teams qualifying for the FA Cup quarter-finals ahead of this Manchester Derby, attention now switches to collecting Premier League points for United and City. For hosts Manchester United, Champions League qualification for next season remains the target, and they were unbeaten last month in pursuit of that aim. As for City, only a catastrophic loss of form will prevent the team from finishing second in the league table with their hopes of retaining the Premier League just about ended. However, Pep Guardiola will not want to lose this clash, and we can expect another fiercely contested game.

Having beaten their city neighbours twice already this season, Manchester United will be seeking a three-timer, but they also lost 3-1 when playing City in League Cup action at Old Trafford back in January. However, it is worth noting that Burnley are the only other visiting team to win at the venue since the beginning of September. Although Wolves recently drew 0-0 at United in league action, the Red Devils have beaten Norwich, Wolves (EFL Cup), Watford and Club Brugge on home soil this year without conceding a goal as the United defence becomes more reliable.

Manchester City will visit their city neighbours seeking a fourth successive victory on away soil besides winning the EFL Cup at Wembley last weekend. City have failed to win just once on the road this year when beaten 2-0 at Tottenham early last month, but defeats at Liverpool, Wolves and Norwich earlier this season proves that Guardiola’s team can also be vulnerable on their travels. However, only Spurs and Crystal Palace have breached their defence on more than one occasion during 2020 with three clean sheets registered in six competitive fixtures last month.

Team News

Paul Pogba (ankle/foot) remains a long-term injury concern for Manchester United as is the case with Marcus Rashford (back). Harry Maguire (ankle), Aaron Wan-Bissaka (back) and Daniel James (minor leg injury) all missed the midweek action but are hopeful of returning for this game.

Leroy Sane (knee) is likely to be sidelined for Manchester City while Kevin De Bruyne is struggling with a shoulder/back injury. Aymeric Laporte will also be unavailable with a hamstring problem.

Prediction

With Manchester United now unbeaten in nine competitive matches, they are now regarded as genuine challengers for a final top-four position in the Premier League while seven clean sheets registered during that sequence is another positive sign. United now host a City team which has registered five successive victories in all competitions following a 2-0 loss at Tottenham at the beginning of last month. With both teams becoming difficult to beat in recent weeks, it may be a good idea to select a Draw priced at 10/3 with Bet365, as a decent bet.

A second pick is for Under 2.5 goals to be Scored offered at 6/5 by Bet365. One notable sign for both teams in the past few weeks is how few goals they are conceding. The United defence has been breached just twice in their last nine matches while the City defence has conceded just twice in their five latest games. The reigning champions have also failed to score more than twice in any fixture since the start of February and seemed slightly laboured in their attacking efforts when playing Sheffield Wednesday in midweek cup action. Meanwhile, United have netted more than once in just two of their last six Premier League games.