Macca provides his bet builder tips for the Manchester Derby.
16:30 Sunday
Sunday’s Manchester derby arrives with both clubs desperate to steady themselves after shaky starts. Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City who are usually relentless out of the blocks, sit in mid table after back to back defeats left them with just three points from three games, his worst ever league start.
Injuries have also piled up leaving City short of options in defence and wide areas though the presence of Erling Haaland, especially after his goal spree in the internationals will mean they still have a huge threat.
Across town Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United finally secured their first league win of the season before the break, but again they look uninspiring and Amourim would rather ANYTHING than deter from his 4-3-3 formation that just doesn’t suit this team with no strong player in that 6 role.
United have however shown a knack for upsetting City at the Etihad, including last year’s dramatic comeback win.
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Man City vs Man United Bet Builder Tips
Macca's bet builder tips for Man City vs Man United features Bernardo Silva Over 2.5 Tackles, Bryan Mbuemo Over 0.5 Shots On Target & Under 4.5 Cards.
It is a best price of 15/2 with bet365 at the time of publishing.
Bernardo Silva – Tackles Ladder - Over 1.5 @ 1.72, Over 2.5 @ 3.25 (1u, 0.75u)
Bernardo Silva isn’t always the first player punters think of in the tackles market, but his numbers show real consistency. Across Manchester City’s last 30 Premier League matches, he’s averaging 2.38 tackles per 90 minutes.
Recent returns underline that steadiness: 1 (3 with super sub), 4, 2, 1, 1, 3, 1, 1, 8 (in the last Manchester derby!), 4. That eight tackle performance against United last time out is a reminder that Silva relishes the bigger occasions, where his energy and tenacity are key parts of Pep Guardiola’s midfield and we’ve seen that trend many times in the bigger matches for City.
The matchup looks favourable too. He’ll likely see plenty of Bruno Fernandes and Patrick Dorgu, who are currently United’s most dispossessed players which should give Silva the chance to rack up tackles.
Bryan Mbeumo Over 0.5 Shots on Target @ 1.83 Bet365 (1.25u)
With Matheus Cunha ruled out, United will lean on Bryan Mbeumo to spearhead their counter attacks. The summer signing has quickly emerged as a rare bright spark, offering direct running and a constant willingness to get shots away.
He’s registered 4 shots on target in his 3 Premier League starts, and across his last 20 matches averages 1.15 shots on target per 90 minutes.
That consistency makes him a real threat against a City defence that has looked shaky.
If United are to get joy at the Etihad, it will be through quick breaks and balls over the top and Mbeumo will be at the forefront of that.
Under 4.5 Cards
The Manchester derby is known for drama and fans bigging up the occasion, but apparently not when it comes to bookings. Just two of the last 14 meetings have seen five or more cards, with an average of only 3.0 cards per game which is very low for a fixture of this stature.
One of the two games that did hit 5 cards (late on) was refereed by John Brooks, one of the league’s strictest referees. This weekend sees Anthony Taylor in charge and he was among the most lenient officials last year, issuing the second fewest cards of any Premier League referee.
Manchester United are also likely to be without Matheus Cunha who is great for drawing cards so that further reduces the potential for a card heavy affair.
