Manchester United take on neighbours and arch rivals City at Old Trafford this lunchtime (1.30pm KO, Live on Sky Sports 1), and Sir Alex Ferguson’s side have to be the call at the 5/4 on offer.
It’s not often that United can be backed at odds-against to win at home, and the 5/4 on offer with Hills and Ladbrokes about the Red Devils bagging all three points in the Derby clash and regaining top spot in the league from Mancini’s men looks terrific value.
The stats are good as Sir Alex Ferguson’s side have lost none of their last six games against the Citizens – winning five and drawing one.
United have also lost none of their last 25 league games at Old Trafford and have had by far the more testing fixtures of the two sides this season.
They have played – and beaten – Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs and drew with Liverpool last week when Rooney was surprisingly left out of a defensive looking starting line-up.
City have only faced Spurs from last season’s top six and have so far had an easy run of games against inferior opposition. This will be the acid test for them.
Michael Owen, who has scored seven goals in eight Premier League games against the Blues, may not figure in Ferguson’s starting line-up but given his record will surely make an appearance at some point and the 11/4 on offer with Victor Chandler about him scoring anytime looks attractive.
However one player sure to start is Wayne Rooney, and Paddy Power’s standout offer of 9/5 about him scoring anytime during the 90 minutes is a far safer bet and too big to ignore as he is as short as 11/10 with some firms.
Predicting the scoreline is a really tough call as United have scored with a higher percentage of their shots than any other team in the Premier League (24%), while City are ranked second scoring with 20%.
My idea of the outcome is a 2-1 win for United and that score line can be backed at at 8/1 with Ladbrokes and Sky Bet.
