Man City v Man Utd – Etihad Stadium at 16:00 live on Sky Sports 1
With both Man City and crosstown rivals Man Utd out of the title race, Sunday’s Manchester Derby will be unusual, but with a top 4 place still not yet in the bag, it’s as important a derby as ever.
Man City are currently 15 points behind league leaders Leicester but do have 2 games in hand over the Foxes. Even with shortening the gap to 9, with just 7 games to play and Leicester looking less likely to throw their lead away, City need to concentrate on securing Champions League football for next season.
Up until the beginning of February, I was behind City to claim another Premier League trophy in Pellegrini’s last season in charge. A run of 3 defeats on the spin to title rivals Leicester and Tottenham before losing to Liverpool 3-0 has all but mathematically ended their chances.
Since the announcement that Guardiola is taking over in the Summer, the Citizens have been a different team, dropping 11 points in their last 5 matches.Their only win in that time over bottom of the table Aston Villa and they were even unable to defeat struggling Norwich, drawing a blank against one of the leagues worst defences.
Despite their recent poor form, they have won more home games than any other BPL side this term (10). They have also won the League Cup and face PSG in the Champions League quarter finals so Pellegrini still has a chance to sign of in style and a third successive win over Man Utd at the Etihad will certainly be a big confidence boost.
City have won 4 of their last 6 Manchester Derby’s and with United’s poor away form this season, the hosts are good value at 1.87 to distance themselves from West Ham in 5th place.
It’s not a great time to be a Man Utd fan, having been knocked out of the Europa League in the week by bitter rivals Liverpool and without really putting up a good fight. A top 4 place is looking very unlikely and many fans believe a loss today will mean Champions League football next season is off the table.
The Red Devil’s only chance of silverware is now the FA Cup, but a quarter final replay at Upton Park against high flying West Ham is not an easy task and I think a top 6 finish will be the best Utd will do this season.
Their away form has really let them down this term and have just 1 win in their last 5 in all competitions on the road. Louis Van Gaal’s possession based style of play, without taking any risks does not work away from home.
With just 1 league win in 8 away from home, 4 losses, 3 draws, I don’t see United getting anything from this game. City are great value on the Asian Handicap betting market -0.75 at 2.14 which is my official recommendation.
Asian Handicap Betting Recommendation: Man City -0.75 at 2.14
Prices correct at time of writing.
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