Man Utd v Man City

Can't see it myself.

This is a local derby between two teams that hate each other. Historically there have always been goals and the only 0-0 between them in the last 15 yearswas at City's ground in 2010.

Home win and overs for me.

You get the impression this season has been about settling scores for Fergie and whatever the league positions he'll remind his players about the 1-6.  It could well be a draw but there's nothing to stop both teams going at other.

City have to go for the win. No 0-0.

I see no reason why Man U won't go all out for the win. And if so I think these odds are a real gift

ManU will not want to lose this game and DNB at around 1.72
represents very good value, especially playing at home.

seriously,titles in the bag,playing with no pressure at home,have to be greedy and go for a ht/ft,maybe utd -2

I know previous results have little bearing on tonight's match (which seems to be more about prestige than winning points), but what I find curious is the amount of goals Manchester City are scoring away from home this season compared to the last (2011/2012: 38 goals in 19 matches; 2012/2013: 20 goals in 15 matches). How come a team with so many recognized goalscorers score so relatively few goals away from home this season?

Take a look at the results Manchester City achieved in matches leading up to this fixture:

21/08/11 Bolton Wanderers 2 - 3 Manchester City
28/08/11 Tottenham Hotspur 1 - 5 Manchester City
18/09/11 Fulham    2 - 2 Manchester City
01/10/11 Blackburn Rovers 0 - 4 Manchester City
23/10/11 Manchester United 1 - 6 Manchester City

versus

29/01/13 Queens Park Rangers 0 - 0 Manchester City
09/02/13 Southampton 3 - 1 Manchester City
04/03/13 Aston Villa 0 - 1 Manchester City
16/03/13 Everton 2 - 0 Manchester City
08/04/13 Manchester United -v- Manchester City

Last season this fixture was played early in the season when both teams still had everything to win, so maybe that's one reason. But that would suggest that the Manchester City players know that their season is virtually over and that they're no longer interested in 'giving everything' for the win, which isn't what you want to be the case if you were thinking of having a bet on them. If that is the case, how deep will they be prepared to go tonight to get a win, in the knowledge that it will almost certainly not make any difference to the outcome of their season? Or is it perhaps a lack of hunger after having won the Premier League last season? (I don't understand that, but who knows how footballers think nowadays...)

I've no clue how it's going to end tonight, but there's got to be a reason beyond the quality of the players alone for this Manchester City team to score so few goals away from home?

agree with milan, but i'll wait until i can get evens

great post Quatsch, maybe an analysis of shots/shots on target/goals may yield an explanation?

was it injuries the reason they played so little?
I know Aguero has been dogged by injuries this year.
Wasn't sure bout Dzeko being injured, Tevez?

gotta be team news leaked , no doubt jones will be in midfield

themover: I haven't dived in deep enough to look at playing time for each player, which obviously plays a part. Maybe if you looked closely at every match they've played, you'll find that a certain combination of players yields much better results and that those players have only played together in a few matches.

But apart from injury-related circumstances, might it have something to do with the system they play this season? Maybe someone who frequently watches them can tell us if anything has changed in their style of play. Maybe Mancini has gone (even more) defensive in his approach this season because he felt they had something to lose as reigning Premier League champions?

Anyway, to me this is a 50-50 and no scoreline would really surprise me (other than one team beating the other by 2 goals or more). I've no reason to assume that one team is much more likely to score the opening goal than the other, so I'm just going to watch this one and hope to be entertained. There's every chance of more goals if the first goes in, so until then I'm on the fence.

RF, United would find a draw more acceptable, whereas City
would be trying a whole lot harder to win the game if only
for the bragging rights. A United defeat would leave the
Championship a bit hollow for the fans, lets see who is trying
the hardest if level with perhaps 30 mins to play.

A United defeat would leave the
Championship a bit hollow for the fans,

Looks like a nice cosy 0-0 draw to me.

I'll have whatever you crack heads have been smoking.

What a load of tosh.

This game is an absolute dead rubber and in that context there is nothing for the sides to be worried about in terms of the caution that can sometimes be shown when top sides meet.

Goalfest 4-3 UTD

What ROykeane says...except 3-1 for me.

A lot of possible ways to interpret this match. That makes going for big odds shots a better bet?

Might have a stab at a goalfest too.

prob get at 5-1 score now...