Manchester Utd vs Manchester City prediction: ENGLAND: Premier League betting tips on match 2025-04-05 15:30.
[p]Rarely has a Premier League Manchester derby had less riding on it than this one, but with Manchester United languishing in the bottom half of the table and reigning champions Manchester City beginning the round outside the top four, bragging rights are mostly what’s at play. That’s especially true for United, who’ll be looking to bounce back from defeat to Nottingham Forest and build confidence ahead of a season-defining UEFA Europa League quarter-final against Lyon.[/p]
[p]There’ll be no forgiveness from the Old Trafford faithful for looking past this fixture, with the Red Devils looking to do the double over their neighbours for the first time since 2019/20, having won the reverse fixture 2-1. Boss Ruben Amorim stands to make some of his own history having also beaten City this term while in charge of Sporting CP, as only Jürgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel have previously beaten Pep Guardiola in three successive meetings![/p]
[p]This derby certainly takes on more importance in terms of the Premier League table for Manchester City, who continue to hunt down the top four. Wins over Bournemouth in the FA Cup and Leicester in the league have marked a successful return from the international break for Guardiola’s men, but the loss of Erling Haaland to injury may be more keenly felt here given his incredible return of nine direct goal contributions in five league Manchester derbies (G6, A3)![/p]
[p]That won’t help a City side who are increasingly vulnerable on the road, losing six of their last 11 such league matches (W3, D2) – as many as in their previous 37 combined (W26, D5). If there’s anywhere the champions can start to put that right, it’s across town at Old Trafford as they’ve won more Premier League away matches against United than any other side (nine), five of which have come under Guardiola – also the most by a visiting manager.[/p]
[p]Players to watch: Dropped from the squad for the reverse fixture, Alejandro Garnacho will be keen to make his presence felt as he’s scored in each of the last two Manchester derbies he’s appeared in, and assisted the decisive goal in United’s last home H2H win in January 2023. Jack Grealish was on target that day, but he’s managed just seven league goals since, with his strike against Leicester in midweek ending a 16-month drought in the competition.[/p]
[p]Hot stat: The away side on the day has won ten of the last 18 Premier League H2Hs.[/p]
[p][i]Written by Ryan Fisher[/i][/p]