Will United surprise in the Manchester derby?
It would certainly be premature to talk of a crisis summit in the run-up to the Manchester derby. Nevertheless, neither club can be truly satisfied with their start to the new season. While MUFC managed to pick up points two, three, and four thanks to a fortunate 3-2 win over Burnley before the international break, the long-standing leaders on the island lost two of their first three Premier League matches.
Nevertheless, the best sports betting providers are predicting a win for the Sky Blues on Sunday afternoon and are therefore offering significantly lower odds for a home win ahead of the Manchester City vs. Manchester United clash.
This assessment is certainly a bold one, because in addition to the two aforementioned defeats against Tottenham and Brighton, City coach Pep Guardiola is struggling with immense personnel problems. The deployment of eleven players is hanging in the balance and in many cases will only be decided at short notice.
In any case, one should be cautious with a Manchester City vs. Manchester United prediction of a home win, because the winning gene that is actually firmly anchored in the club’s DNA has somehow been missing for more than half a year. Since the beginning of November 2024, the Cityzens have lost eleven games in the English top flight! To put that into perspective, Guardiola has lost only 49 of 345 league games as City coach.
It should also be noted that the Red Devils have worked on their approach, certainly thanks in part to good and expensive transfers in the summer. It’s no coincidence that no other team took as many shots on goal as the world-famous club from Old Trafford in the first two matchdays. Above all, the new depth in their attacking play gives last year’s 15th-placed team, which failed to qualify for the European Cup, a new offensive dimension. Mbeumo and Co. are also at the top of the league table in terms of deep runs after 180 minutes of play.
Manchester City – Manchester United Head-to-head comparison / H2H record
Manchester City has won five of the last eight Premier League matches against Manchester United. Nevertheless, the Red Devils can boast a solid 25% win rate against Pep Guardiola and the Cityzens in their living room, the Etihad Stadium. MUFC has won four of 16 PL away games. Also exciting and worth knowing: since 2015/16, only six of 20 PL duels have been won by the respective home team.
I wouldn’t rule out a surprise on Sunday either, so I can just as easily imagine checking the betting odds between Manchester City and Manchester United to see if the visitors will score the first goal of the game or even pick up points against the championship contenders. The former approach offers top odds of 2.55 at Betano, while the double chance X2 is offered at 2.07.
Manchester City – Manchester United Tip
A derby in Manchester United always has a lot of potential for fireworks. Especially when both teams are currently having to deal with malice and ridicule. Both the Cityzens and the Red Devils have seen far more successful times. Currently, however, the clubs are lagging behind their own expectations.
The host Sky Blues in particular could lose touch with the top of the table early on if they drop more points. After two consecutive PL defeats and given the tense personnel situation, the home game against their city rivals will definitely not be a walk in the park.
Man United currently have one more point to their name and have also scored significantly more goals in the first two matchdays. Despite average results and a defense that remains vulnerable, I see progress in coach Ruben Amorim’s team, which is why I would bet with confidence that both Manchester City and Manchester United will score at least once.
