‘Noisy neighbours’ to rule Manchester!

03/03/2024
16:30 CET

Expect goals as The Manchester Derby takes place this Sunday at The Etihad and it’s difficult to see past the blue half of Manchester celebrating come full time in this one.?

Erling Haaland celebrates scoring his first of two goals in City’s 3-0 victory at Old Trafford back in October.

Title chasing City are just one point behind leaders Liverpool and have been in imperious form since the turn of the year, winning 12 out of the last 13 games in all competitions and 5 out of the last 6 at home.

City have been sensational in recent weeks and have scored in every single home match so far and have the joint most wins along with Arsenal and Liverpool (18) this campaign.

United on the other hand have been inconsistent to say the least, with 4 wins from their last 7 Premier League games yet 10 defeats from their 26 games so far this campaign.

Erik Ten Hag is unlikely to be celebrating this week.

However, Erik ten Hag’s side do offer a goal threat, particularly away from home and they have managed to score in each of their last 6 away games in all competitions.?

With their go to man Rasmus Hojland out injured, they will rely on the likes of Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford to step up in his absence.

The Red Devils have scored in 9 of their 13 away games (69%) in the Premier League so far but it’s at the other end where they could most likely be exploited, having kept only 1 clean sheet in their last 6 away games and 0 in their last 5 away from Old Trafford in the league.

PaddyPower are offering 2.1 on over 3.5 goals in the clash and all roads point to this outcome being the case.

Interestingly, the last 2 Premier League games between the sides at The Etihad have ended 6-3 and 4-1 to the hosts.

With City possessing the highest xG currently out of all the teams in the top flight, we can expect Guardiola’s side to cause the United backline some real problems and it could be a case of how many they win by come full time.

The graphic below shows Manchester City ranked 1st for xG with 2.16.

Another market which is of interest is a Manchester City win and both teams to score, with Sky Bet offering 2.63 on this coming in.?

With 58 goals and 26 assists between Erling Haaland, Phil Foden and Julian Alvarez across all competitions, it’s impossible to see United keeping City quiet in front of goal and limiting the immense firepower they have at their disposal.

The graphic below shows just how lethal Haaland, Foden and Alvarez have been in front of goal this term.

The three of them have been prolific in front of goal in recent weeks with 15 goals between them in the last 8 matches and Haaland grabbing 5 goals in their last game at Luton in the FA Cup on Tuesday night.

With odds of 3.75 with SkyBet on Erling Haaland to score two or more goals, given his current form it’s hard to argue against this one paying out as well.