With Manchester United set to face off with their noisy neighbours, Manchester City, in a little over a month, the football world is fluttering with anticipation. Let’s take a look at who are the favourites to walk away with the bragging rights and Premier League Points. Armed with this information, we will also look at which bookies to use to make you a few quid, including a handful of new UK bookies.
Who are the Favourites?
As it stands at the time of writing, Manchester City seems to be the clear favourites as they are two positions above United in the table, and their current form has three wins sandwiched between two losses. In contrast, Manchester United’s form is a mixed bag of win-draw-win-loss-win. However, there is a lot of football to be played from now until the big derby day, and national players are set to return from their World cup efforts.
What do the bookies have to say?
As we are more than a month out, the odds bookies are publishing today may significantly change in the future. That being said, knowing the odds today and keeping an eye on them over the next few weeks will give you a clearer view of what to bet on when you do pull the trigger at your chosen bookies.
The new UK bookies such as MrPlay, SBK and Highbet have been reported to boast some of the best odds in the industry despite the fact that they are the newer kids on the block. Not letting the old guard stand in the way of punter-friendly odds and fighting the barrier to entry of complicated websites and mobile apps.
The odds are currently hovering at 19/5 for Manchester United to eke out a win against the Pep Guardiola side. The far more likely outcome is a draw which sits at a sturdy 3/1. The noisy neighbours are pencilled in at 7/10 to defeat the Red devils. It is worth noting that the last time these two sides met, Manchester City had a scintillating 6-3 victory over Manchester United.
What does Head-to-Head History Indicate?
In the short yet rich history of The English Premier League, the Manchester Teams have clashed 51 times, with United having won 24 of those matches and City 18 of them. The remaining 9 matches were draws. As far as goals are concerned, the Red Devils lead by a single goal, with 74 goals scored to the Sky Blues 73.
The head to Head statistics is misleading due to the absolute dominance of Manchester United during the late 90s and early 2000s, which was also the early years of the newly minted Premier League Championship. More recent history skews in favour of the Citizens as they have convincingly won the last three matches on the trot with scores being 6-3, 4-1 and 2-0. As a matter of fact, The last time the Reds won was back in 2021 when they beat City at home a respectable 2-0.
On paper, it seems like the Sky Blues are as close to a sure thing as you could get in the world of sports betting. However, as legendary Dutch Coach, Leo Beenhakker famously said, “football is not played on paper; it is played on a pitch.”
Conclusion
Stats and history can go a long way to help you understand the difference between a long shot that can turn out profitable and an impossible bet that is the equivalent of setting your money on fire. Although it is worth noting in the world of football, and especially the English Premier League, any team can win on their day. You need to look no further than Leicester City’s unprecedented 15/16 League victory after only being promoted to the Premier League the year before.
The long and short of it is to use stats and historical information to make educated decisions to bet wisely, not to use them as tools to foresee the future. Truth be told, football is an unpredictable sport where any team is capable of winning against all odds. Morroco’s current run in the World Cup is a great example of it.
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