Manchester City v Manchester United: Prediction, Tips and Odds

Manchester City face Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday and both clubs will be desperate for a positive result after patchy runs of form.

Manchester City v Manchester United betting tips and predictions

Man City to win 2-1 @ 8/1

The last competitive Manchester derby produced a shock result as goals from Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo gave United a 2-1 FA Cup final victory over City at Wembley.

The Citizens had gone into May's final as hot favourites after clinching a sixth Premier League title in seven seasons, but things are very different ahead of Sunday's clash at the Etihad Stadium.

A 2-0 defeat to Juventus in the UEFA Champions League made it seven losses in 10 games for Pep Guardiola's side, who also blew a 3-0 lead to draw 3-3 with Feyenoord last month.

One of those defeats was a 4-1 UEFA Champions League loss away to Sporting, whose manager Ruben Amorim is now in charge of United.

Amorim is clearly a talented coach, but he has not had an easy start to his career at Old Trafford, overseeing a 2-0 loss at Arsenal and a 3-2 home defeat to Nottingham Forest in the Red Devils' last two league games.

United had to come from behind to win 2-1 at Viktoria Plzen in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday and, while City are looking vulnerable, their neighbours may not be capable of taking advantage.

It is a tricky betting heat given the lack of confidence in both camps, but City still have game-changing individuals such as Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden among their ranks.

Most of their struggles have come away from home - they beat high-flying Nottingham Forest 3-0 in their last game at the Etihad Stadium - so a 2-1 City win is worth chancing in the correct score market.

Josko Gvardiol to score at any time @ 15/2

United have looked fragile defending set-pieces in recent weeks, as both of Arsenal's goals at the Emirates Stadium on came from corners.

Amorim's men were punished again from a corner when imposing Forest centre-back Nikola Milenkovic scored a second-minute header at Old Trafford last weekend.

That area of weakness points to a bet on City defender Josko Gvardiol scoring at any time in Sunday's derby.

The Croatia international has had a difficult season defensively, but he remains a major goal threat from open play and set-piece situations.

Gvardiol has scored three times in his last nine Premier League appearances and is averaging 1.5 attempts at goal per game in the top-flight, so he should get chances against a flaky Red Devils rearguard.

Manuel Ugarte to be booked @ 15/8

The absence of City's injured Ballon d'Or winner Rodri boosts United's hopes of winning the midfield battle, although the hosts should have Mateo Kovacic available for the first time in more than a month.

United's Manuel Ugarte can expect a busy shift in the middle of the park against a City side who tend to dominate possession and he is well worth backing to be shown a card.

The tough-tackling Uruguayan has been booked three times in 503 minutes of Premier League action this season and those yellow cards came in high-profile clashes with Tottenham, Chelsea and Arsenal.

Ugarte was cautioned 11 times in 28 league starts for Amorim's Sporting in 2022/23 and he is unlikely to go into his shell in his first Manchester derby.

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Manchester City v Manchester United odds

Manchester City - 4/7
Draw - 7/2
Manchester United - 17/4

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.