English Premier League: Manchester United vs. Manchester City Preview, Odds, Prediction

This Saturday afternoon, we will witness the 183rd official match, between Manchester United and Manchester City. This one has a bit more complicated circumstances for the hosts. The Red Devils suffered elimination from the UEFA Champions League this Wednesday, and their head coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is facing what might be the last chance to save his skin. On the other side, Pep Guardiola is doing just fine, and his crew comes into this contest in a good mood, without some notable problems.

Preview

Manchester United (+333) lost in Leipzig against RB, 3-2, thus losing all chances of reaching the knockout stage of the Champions League. The home team was up 3-0 at one point, and once United cut the gap to 3-2, there were some hopes that they might repeat a miraculous comeback like the one in Paris at the beginning of 2019.

Solskjaer’s team plays efficient matches, with the last five all ending with goals on both sides and over 3.5 scores.

However, their home performances are not at the desirable level, as United had four straight events prior to the win against WBA in which they couldn’t win. Even that victory versus Baggies was controversial due to some questionable referees’ decisions. When looking a little bit better, that was the only victory of Solskjaer’s crew at home in the EPL.

Manchester City (-125) is in solid shape with four wins and a draw over the past five games in all competitions, and what is even more important is that Guardiola’s machinery didn’t allow a single goal during that stretch.

Overall, the Citizens have a rock-solid defense, keeping its net intact in eight of the previous 10 matches. Four of their most recent events saw low efficiency, meaning under 2.5 goals.

Guardiola’s gameplan involves a high percentage of ball possession, which is the safest way for his team to protect the result and to control the rhythm of the contest.

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Edinson Cavani and Phil Jones are most definitely out for United, while Anthony Martial sits questionable.

Garcia and Ilkay Gundogan are doubtful for the guests.

Head to Head Games

United created a big advantage in H2H contests before City’s sky-rocketing rise. The Red Devils won 76 matches, 52 saw a draw, and City has 54 triumphs.

In 2019/20, we saw four games between these two sides, with United winning three and City just one. Two were in the English Football League Cup, where each team has one victory, and two in the Premiership, where United won both. Solskjaer’s side would eliminate the rivals from the EFL Cup as well.

Prediction

This is a tricky one to predict when it comes to the full-time winner. We won’t see many scoring opportunities, as both Solskajer and Guardiola plan to be conservative, waiting for the opponent’s mistake. To be honest, Solskjaer doesn’t have any other choice, because all of his big wins came from similar situations. Meanwhile, Guardiola knows that the pressure in this contest is on Solskjaer, and the Spaniard, too, will wait. One point here is good for him. All this points to lower efficiency than usual, 2 or 3 goals, with odds at -105 at the moment.