Both David Moyes and Manuel Pellegrini have had ‘steady’
starts in a season filled with uncertain performances from both sides but
today’s Manchester Derby offers a giant opportunity for either side to make a
big step in this season’s title race and give their new managers the big game
win that would be sorely needed to appease their sets of supporters.
Both Manuel Pellegrini and David Moyes had fantastic starts
to the season with crushing 4 goal wins, but neither of their performances
since have been as good. City were dreadful against Cardiff and arguably even
worse against Hull before being outplayed by Stoke, while United have gone two
games against other members of the top 6 goalless, while having to work hard to
beat Crystal Palace in a laboured performance considering they were at home.
Such matches suggest that this could be as cagey as the
other big games we’ve seen so far this season, especially with so much at
stake, but there was much more fluidity to be found in midweek wins over Bayer
Leverkusen and Viktoria Plzen for United and City respectively, even though the
merits of what they achieved can be debated especially in today’s context.
United won here last year after an early 20 minute blitz
from Wayne Rooney before they had gotten going fully in a game that City
dominated before Robin Van Persie’s freekick, but otherwise they’ve had the
worse of recent derbies, including their double that City did over them in
their title winning season, and they face a side that has a full compliment of
defenders back including Vincent Kompany and Matia Nastastic. Maurone Fellani’s
presence has been an important presence against City’s midfield and will be
again, but Pellegrini looks to have the right balance to take control of the
game and in Jesus Navas he has the wide man that Roberto Mancini so often
lacked to change things in an area that United have struggled to police.
It’s a hard game to call with both sides having
underperformance but City’s home advantage, strong recent record, and superiority
in midfield and attack that has been exaggerated by Robin Van Persie’s absence
leads us to side with the home team. City to win is just 5/4 and looks a little
too short, but the one goal winning margin is a tasty 3/1 shot we’ll gladly
take.
Elsewhere, Cardiff’s game against Tottenham will get much
less attention but presents a similar betting opportunity. Spurs’ are the
biggest winners by far of the protracted Gareth Bale saga, buying the core of a
whole new side that has added huge new strength in depth to their squad,
oincluding the likes of Paulinhio, Christian Eriksen, and Roberto Soldado. For
the first time they looked like they were beginning to find their way when
brushing aside Norwich last week, with Eriksen just the presence they need to
take advantage of Soldado’s movement and the willingness of Andros Townsend to
bomb forward. Two of Tottenham’s three wins have been by just one goal and with
Cardiff having beaten City and edged out Everton at home, it’s a bt with enough
value for us to go in again.
Advice
1 pt Manchester City to win by one goal (3/1 188Bet)
1 pt Tottenham to win by one goal (14/5 Ladbrokes)
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