Manchester City vs Manchester United Betting Pick | English Premier

English Premier

2018-11-11 - Manchester City vs Manchester United

A Sports Betting Pick by Auls

Manchester City v Manchester United
Football: English Premier League
Sunday 11th November 2018 - Kick Off 4:30pm
This game is live on TV

Manchester City

The international break may be coming at the wrong time for Manchester City as they have built up some real momentum in their defence of the two trophies they won last season as well as almost progressing to the Last 16 of the Champions League. It is unlikely that the break will upset the bandwagon at the Etihad Stadium though and Pep Guardiola's only focus for now is the Manchester derby this weekend.

The side go into the weekend on top of the Premier League and 2 points clear of both Chelsea and Liverpool, although Manchester City could have slipped behind both clubs if they have won their earlier fixtures on Sunday. Again that won't be the concern of the manager or the players as Manchester City bring in a 6-0-0 record from their home Premier League games after scoring 24 goals and conceding 3 in those games.

Manchester City crushed Shakhtar Donetsk during the week in the Champions League and that means they have won 10 of their last 11 games in all competitions since the surprising home loss to Lyon on Match Day of the premier European tournament. They have won all 5 games at the Etihad Stadium since that loss and both Southampton and Shakhtar Donetsk have been hit for six over the last eight days.

Kevin De Bruyne is the only significant absentee for Manchester City and will return in the middle of December. The likes of Benjamin Mendy and Sergio Aguero will be hoping for recalls this weekend.

Manchester United

Failure to win either of the first two home games in the Champions League Group Stage is a difficult position for any team to progress to the Last 16 of the competition. However Manchester United managed to turnaround a 1-0 deficit at Juventus to win 1-2 in Turin during the week which has put them in a very strong position in their Group and keeps the positive momentum going into the big weekend Premier League fixture.

A come from behind win last weekend in the Premier League has helped Manchester United move up to 7th in the League table and they are now 4 points off a top four berth albeit with the toughest test they can have coming up. The side have a 3-1-2 away record in the League and Manchester United have scored 11 goals and conceded 10 in those games.

Manchester United have bounced back from the 0-1 defeat to Juventus on Match Day 3 of the Champions League and they have won 3 games in a row in all competitions by the same 2-1 scoreline. They have lost 1 of their last 7 away games in all competitions and Manchester United have won 5 of those, while they have come from behind in each of their last 3 on their travels and won 2 of those. Manchester United have scored at least twice in 7 of their last 8 away games played in all competitions.

Antonio Valencia and Romelu Lukaku are both doubts for the Manchester derby.

Head to Head

Both Manchester City and Manchester United won the away Premier League fixture against the other last season and that includes United coming from 2-0 down to win 2-3 at the Etihad Stadium.

Manchester United have not lost on their last 3 visits across the city and have earned 2 wins in that time.

Prediction

Both Manchester clubs recorded big wins in the Champions League on Wednesday, but that won't matter now as the first Manchester derby takes place on Sunday from the Etihad Stadium.

A couple of weeks ago Pep Guardiola spoke about the title contenders and it was noted that Manchester United were not mentioned, but another home loss to their rivals will mean there are only 4 points between these clubs going into the final international break of the calendar year.

The recent performances from Manchester United may not be the most encouraging for this huge test, but the results have been coming and there has been a real display of hunger and determination from the players. Second half performances at Chelsea, Bournemouth and Juventus have been improved and Manchester United have come from a goal down to win 2 of those games and draw the other.

Manchester United have now scored at least twice in 7 of their 8 away games played in all competitions in the 2018/19 season but my biggest fear is that the results have been much better than what the side have really deserved.

Chelsea, Bournemouth and Juventus all had big chances to finish off Manchester United before the fightback and this Manchester City team don't look like they are taking many prisoners at the moment.

Of course there will be some encouragement taken into this fixture from Manchester United's last 3 visits to the Etihad Stadium where they have won twice in that time. That includes coming back from 2-0 down to win 2-3 here and spoil Manchester City's planned Premier League title celebration and I think that is a result that won't have been forgotten by Pep Guardiola or the players.

It should mean Manchester City are more focused on what Manchester United are capable of if they are allowed to hang around. The recent results from United will have underlined that point to the Manchester City team and backed up by that result back in April, but it is hard to imagine a side creating as many chances as Manchester City are will allow a lead to slip for the second time in two seasons against their biggest rivals.

Much will depend on how clinical Manchester City are because Manchester United are simply not defending to a level Jose Mourinho would find acceptable. Poor finishing let down Bournemouth and Juventus when they had Manchester United on the rack, but this is a Manchester City team who have scored 12 goals in their last couple of games at home over the last eight days.

My prediction is that Manchester City are going to be too strong for Manchester United and likely win by a couple of goals on the day. I've been wrong believing Chelsea and Juventus would beat my team, and I would happily be wrong again so this is a game I simply will watch and hope United can do it.

My heart says United, but my head and all the signs are pointing Manchester City here as Manchester United can't keep getting away with some of the defensive performances they have. I really think everything will depend on how clinical Manchester City are and my feeling is that they have circled this game for some time to make a point after losing from 2-0 up on the day they could have been crowned Champions in April 2018.

It will need some luck for Manchester United to get something from this one, but at some point the fortune of Chelsea and Juventus will run out and I have a feeling that could be the case this weekend.

Fingers crossed I am wrong!

The Statistics :

MAN_CITY LAST SIX HOME FORM
	DATE	RESULT		OPPOSITION
	2018-11-04	W	6-1	H v Southampton
	2018-10-20	W	5-0	H v Burnley
	2018-09-30	W	2-0	H v Brighton
	2018-09-15	W	3-0	H v Fulham
	2018-09-01	W	2-1	H v Newcastle
	2018-08-19	W	6-1	H v Huddersfield

MAN_UTD LAST SIX AWAY FORM
	DATE	RESULT		OPPOSITION
	2018-11-03	W	1-2	A v Bournemouth
	2018-10-20	D	2-2	A v Chelsea
	2018-09-29	L	3-1	A v West_Ham
	2018-09-15	W	1-2	A v Watford
	2018-09-02	W	0-2	A v Burnley
	2018-08-19	L	3-2	A v Brighton

HEAD TO HEAD MAN_CITY v MAN_UTD
DATE	HOME	SCORE	AWAY
2018-04-07	Man_City	2-3	Man_Utd
2017-04-27	Man_City	0-0	Man_Utd
2016-03-20	Man_City	0-1	Man_Utd
2014-11-02	Man_City	1-0	Man_Utd
2013-09-22	Man_City	4-1	Man_Utd
2012-12-09	Man_City	2-3	Man_Utd