Squawka
·12 dicembre 2024
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Yahoo sportsSquawka
·12 dicembre 2024
When football fans looked at the fixture list ahead of the start of the 2024/25 Premier League season and saw the first Manchester derby was taking place in mid-December, few if any would have predicted that neither team would be in the top three in the table going into the match.
But that is the reality as we prepare for Sunday’s clash at the Etihad Stadium and it has been a campaign to forget so far for both Manchester sides. While pre-season expectations for the red side of the city would have been lower than their rivals in blue, United’s current standing of 13th in the table is unacceptable and saw the dismissal of manager Erik ten Hag.
The Dutchman’s replacement Ruben Amorin enjoyed an unbeaten three game run at the start of his reign but was brought down to earth with a bump last weekend when Nottingham Forest left Old Trafford with all three points. Another defeat on Sunday would be the Red Devil’s seventh loss in their opening 16 league games.
Across the city, Pep Guardiola and Manchester City have known nothing but success in recent years and were once again tipped as title favourites before a ball had been kicked this season. But an unprecedented run of no win in seven matches saw the defending champions fall away from Liverpool at the top of the table and they now face a fight simply to stay in the top four.
There’s cause for optimism for City fans however, as the recent head to head record between these two sides in the Premier League shows City have won each of the last six. Sportsbook CopyBet expects that run to continue with Guardiola’s side 1/2 favourites for victory. The draw is 15/4 while a rare Manchester United away win is 21/5.
This fixture has always produced goals, with an incredible 18 scored in the last three at the Etihad, and over 3.5 goals on Sunday is 11/10. Both teams to score looks a likely outcome at 4/7, while both teams to find the net and Manchester City to win could be a popular bet at 31/20.
One man who hasn’t enjoyed as much success in front of goal this season as he did the last, is Manchester City’s England international Phil Foden. The 2023/24 PFA Players’ Player of the Year winner is yet to find the net in the Premier League this season but he’ll be itching to be involved on Sunday having scored five times in his last two league appearances against United at home. The talented attacker is 17/10 to add to that tally at any time in this one.
To add further interest to an already headline clash, CopyBet are giving their social media followers the chance to win a Premier League shirt of their choice by correctly predicting the outcome of the game on their social media channels. So get your guesses in for their Prediction Challenge now and enjoy the game!
The steps for entering the challenge are very simple:
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