2015-16 EPL: Manchester City vs Manchester United Betting Tips
On a derby weekend, Sunday’s Manchester derby between Manchester City and Manchester United in the English Premier League will grab the attention of the football world. Along with the bragging rights, there is an added incentive of consolidating the grip on final Champions league qualification spot.
Both teams are way behind the Premier League leaders with City fourth in the table and 12 points behind Leicester City while United are sixth, four points adrift off their local rivals. The backdrop can never be any better than this for the clash at Etihad Stadium.
Manuel Pellegrini saw his side fail spectacularly in their quest to maintain domestic dominance. They failed to sustain their ‘favourites’ tag this season and it will take more than a miracle for them to lift the title. Recent form isn’t great either with just one win in their last five league games – that too against the bottom placed Aston Villa.
City come on the back of a successful qualification for the last eight of the Champions League, a new first for them. But the task of winning the fourth spot is tricky with West Ham breathing down their neck just two points behind. A slip-up here would make things interesting and the hosts wouldn’t want any of that.
While Pellegrini is leaving City at the end of the season, there is no confirmation on the future of Louis Van Gaal. Having preceded a painful exit from Europa League at the hands of Liverpool, United barely hang on to their only hope of staying in Champions League – which definitely would be a yardstick of his stay at the club.
Having administered many false dawns in an excruciatingly difficult season for the fans, Van Gaal would be wary of the importance of this clash in the larger scheme of things. His team’s inconsistency and profligacy in front of the goal is well documented make them a sitting duck for their rivals.
City have dominated United in the recent past having won four of their last six Premier League matches. The last outing saw them play a life-less goal-less draw at Old Trafford. It would be difficult to see beyond a City win at this moment. Back them at odds of $1.85 at William Hill to win the game. Sergio Aguero should be a strong contender to score anytime in the match at odds of $2.05 at William Hill. Watch out for the flailing arm of Marouane Fellaini who may end up on a red card this weekend.
Manchester derbies are usually exciting to look forward to. Although the fall of United and the inconsistent displays of City have tried taking the sheen off this marquee match, the action should still be riveting.
