English Premier
2025-04-06 - Manchester United vs Manchester City
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Sunday 6th April 2025 - Kick Off 4:30pm
This game is live on TV
Manchester United
If you had shown the game in black and white and with the names of the players erased from the screen, as well as the team names, there may have been plenty of people that saw Manchester United as the better team when visiting Nottingham Forest on Tuesday. Of course there is always going to be headlines made by Manchester United depending on the result and another defeat has meant a negative slant on a game in which they matched the Champions League chasing hosts.
Finishing as high as possible in the Premier League will bring stronger financial rewards, but the reality is that Manchester United will not look back at this campaign with any real fondness. Ruben Amorim is looking for a strong end to the season, but the focus is the Europa League and Manchester United are set for their lowest finish in the Premier League era. The side have a 6-2-7 record at Old Trafford in the top flight where they have scored 21 goals and conceded 25.
Manchester United had not lost any of 7 games in all competitions in regular time before the trip to the City Ground and there will be some frustration that the run was not extended further. They have won 3 of their last 5 games at Old Trafford in all competitions and Manchester United held Arsenal to a 1-1 draw in the last Premier League fixture played at home.
Kobbie Mainoo is edging closer to a return, as is Luke Shaw, but neither is expected to be risked. Chido Obi-Martin was playing in the FA Youth Cup Semi Final on Monday and so was not available against Nottingham Forest, but should have a place on the bench.
Manchester City
Pep Guardiola rung the changes for the Premier League game against Leicester City just days after Manchester City had put in considerable effort to secure their place in the FA Cup Semi Final. Two early goals made it a very comfortable night in the office for Manchester City on Wednesday evening, but they cannot afford to take their eye off the ball if they are not going to embarrassingly miss out on the Champions League places for next season.
With Arsenal, Nottingham Forest, Newcastle United and Aston Villa all winning during the week, Manchester City could not afford to drop points against a club destined for the Championship and they managed to do that. The next three weeks feel very important for Manchester City and the race to finish in the Champions League spots, beginning with the Manchester derby as the team try and improve the 6-3-6 away record.
Manchester City have lost 1 of their last 6 games in all competitions, although the win over Leicester City came after the side had picked up a single point from two League games played. They showed character to come from behind and win at Bournemouth last week in the FA Cup Quarter Final, but it should still be noted that Manchester City have lost 4 of their last 7 on their travels, while winning the other 3.
Erling Haaland has been ruled out for the rest of April and potentially will not be available until the middle of May at best. He joins Manuel Akanji, Nathan Ake and John Stones on the sidelines. The likes of Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne will be pushing for starts.
Head to Head
This is the third and final Manchester derby of the season.
The rivals met at Wembley Stadium in the Community Shield which ended 1-1 before Manchester City prevailed on Penalties, while Manchester United scored two late goals to win 1-2 at the Etihad Stadium in December.
Manchester City have won on 3 of their last 4 visits to Old Trafford, although the exception was a 2-1 win for Manchester United.
Prediction
When the Premier League fixture list was revealed in June 2024, both Manchester clubs would have felt the derby this late in the season would have big implications for their respective seasons.
It remains important to Manchester City in terms of final League position, although not for the reasons Pep Guardiola would have imagined, while Manchester United are under a new manager and the behind the scenes work will already be focusing on next season.
With all that said, it is the Manchester derby and this will always mean a lot to the fans.
Manchester United's results have remained inconsistent under Ruben Amorim, but the performances have shown some positive signs. The Europa League may be the priority for the club, but the manager has insisted on the importance of a strong end to the Premier League season.
Encouragement for the fans arriving at Old Trafford can be taken from the fact that Manchester United's best results under Ruben Amorim have been against the best teams faced. They have drawn with Arsenal twice, and Liverpool, while also scoring twice late on at the Etihad Stadium to beat Manchester City.
And it also should be noted that Manchester City are not the team of several months ago with plenty of losses piling up with some of their stronger wins. The away form has been a real concern and Manchester United may feel they can contain much of the threat, especially without Erling Haaland in the opposition lineup, while also offering a real threat on the counter attack.
Some key attackers remain out- Amad scored twice in the first League derby of the season and is sidelined- but the defensive unit may look a bit more balanced right now. This should help Manchester United and Ruben Amorim has already shown with his previous club that he can get the better of Pep Guardiola.
Manchester City's consecutive wins out of the March international break will help the mood around the team, but they are not the most convincing of teams right now. If Manchester United can produce to a similar level as they did against Arsenal last month, the home team can avoid a defeat here and opposing a relatively short priced visitor is the call.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Manchester United 1-1 Manchester City
FIXED ODDS BETTING TIP :
I'll back Manchester United + 0.5 Asian Handicap at 1.75 with Bet365
