Manchester United vs Manchester City prediction: Premier League betting tips & predicted line-ups

Manchester United begin yet another era on Saturday when they face neighbours Manchester City with Michael Carrick back in the dugout (12:30pm, Sky Sports Main Event).

The former Middlesbrough boss returns to Old Trafford to take charge of the club until the end of the season, following the sacking of Ruben Amorim almost two weeks ago.

This is the second spell in charge of the club for the man who spent 12 years at the club as a player, winning just about everything there is to win.

He won five Premier League titles, the FA Cup, League Cup, Champions League, Europa League and the Fifa Club World Cup, so he won’t be fazed by a Manchester derby this weekend.

Despite being sacked by Boro at the end of last season after a disappointing 10th-place finish in the Championship, the 44-year-old is now favourite to be in charge of United next season at odds of 6/4 on some betting sites.

Carrick faces a baptism of fire in the form of a Manchester derby against a City side desperate for the points in order to close the gap on league leaders Arsenal, who are currently six points ahead of Pep Guardiola’s men.

The two sides are separated by five places and 11 points in the Premier League, but Carrick could go a long way in impressing the fans if he can finally give them something to cheer about.

Barring a 2-1 win over Liverpool at Anfield and a chaotic 4-4 draw at home to Bournemouth, it’s been another disappointing season so far for the Red Devils.

Back-to-back draws with Wolverhampton Wanderers and Leeds, and rumours of a falling out with the powers that be, led to the departure of Ruben Amorim, but things haven’t got much better since.

Darren Fletcher took caretaker charge and led them to a 2-2 draw at Burnley before they were knocked out of the FA Cup in the third round on Sunday, beaten 2-1 at home by Brighton. This was the first time the 13-time FA Cup winners had been dumped out in the third round in 12 years.

When the two sides met earlier in the season, it was a very one-sided affair as City ran out 3-0 winners at the Etihad thanks to a brace from Erling Haaland after Phil Foden had opened the scoring for the home side.

United are looking for their first home win against City since January 2023, when Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford cancelled out Jack Grealish’s opening goal to end a run of three games without a win at home against their neighbours.

Understandably, City are the standout favourites at a best price of evens on football betting sites. Carrick secured a draw with Chelsea and a win over Arsenal during his last spell in charge, so can he add City to that list?

The Red Devils have only won five games at home this season, the 1-0 win over Newcastle on Boxing Day was their first success at Old Trafford since a 4-2 win over Brighton back in October.

They have won just one of their last seven, while City are unbeaten in their last 13, with 10 wins and three draws.

The three draws have come in their last three Premier League matches, being held to a goalless draw at Sunderland and 1-1 at home by Chelsea and Brighton.

Before that, though, they won seven of their last nine away from home, so if United are to get anything, then they are going to have to show a big improvement on what we have seen in recent weeks.

United have scored in their last 10 games, which gives them half a chance, but they have conceded 15 during that period and managed just two clean sheets in their 23 games so far.

Manchester United vs Manchester City prediction 1: BTTS and City to win - 11/5 Bet365

Erling Haaland has eight goals and three assists in six matches against Manchester United, including a hat-trick in the 6-3 win at the Etihad back in October 2022, when Foden also scored three.

In fact, Foden and Haaland have both scored in this fixture on four separate occasions, including earlier in the season, and betting apps are offering 5/1 on the pair scoring again.

Haaland already has 39 goals for club and country this season in just 34 appearances, but he only has one in his last six. A few weeks ago, he only had one in five games, and he turned things around then with five in his next three, including braces against Crystal Palace and West Ham.

City scored 10 last weekend with a 10-1 win over League One side Exeter, although Haaland failed to find the next in the 45 minutes he played.

You can get just 4/5 on him scoring at any time, but he has netted two or more 12 times this season, so that seems a good option.

Manchester United vs Manchester City prediction 2: Haaland to score two or more - 4/1 Ladbrokes

Manchester United: Matthijs de Ligt is a doubt with the back injury that's kept him out for nine games, while Noussair Mazraoui is away at Afcon, and Shae Lacey is suspended.

Manchester City: Rayan Ait-Nouri is back from Afcon to give Guardiola some much-needed defensive reinforcements with Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol and John Stones unavailable. Nico Gonzalez is a doubt, while Oscar Bobb, Savinho, Mateo Kovacic and Omar Marmoush are out.

Manchester United: Lammens; Dalot, Yoro, Martinez, Shaw; Casemiro, Ugarte; Mbeumo, Fernandes, Cunha; Sesko

Manchester City: Donnarumma; Nunes, Khusanov, Alleyne, O'Reilly; Rodri; Bernardo Silva, Cherki, Foden, Semenyo; Haaland

TalkSPORT BET have a special offer for Saturday’s game, boosting the football odds on either side to win to 40/1.

The offer is only available to new customers who sign-up to talkSPORT BET using the link above, opt in to the promotion for the team they wish to bet on and then make a first deposit of at least £5.

Once the account is funded, bettors will need to head to the match market and back either City or United to win at the standard match odds.

Should your chosen team win, talkSPORT BET will pay out in cash on the £1 bet, with the remaining amount credited in free bets to equal a payout at 40/1. For example, a £1 bet on City to win at 1/1 would return £2 cash and £39 in free bets.

It’s vital that bettors take steps to remain in control of their time and budget when using gambling sites. The same applies whether you’re using online bookmakers, slot sites, casino sites, casino apps, or any other gambling medium.

Even the most knowledgeable racing punter can lose a bet, so always stick to a budget and never chase your losses.

It’s particularly important not to get carried away by any free bets or casino offers you might receive, both of which are available in abundance on gambling sites, but must be approached with caution.

You can stay in control by making use of the responsible gambling tools offered, such as deposit limits, loss limits, self-exclusion and time-outs.

You may also want to visit the following free organisations to discuss any issues with gambling you might be having:

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