Phil Agius
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The English Premier League Saturday morning game comes to America slightly later this week as UK summer time ended last weekend, so the EPL Saturday kickoffs are only 4 hours ahead of ET. The schedule has fallen really well for this anomaly, too, as Saturday’s early game is the Manchester derby, with Manchester United hosting Manchester City at Old Trafford (8.30am ET, NBCSN).
United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer may have saved his job with last week’s 3-0 win over Tottenham, but he can’t afford another humbling in this huge game similar to their recent 5-0 home loss to Liverpool. City was upset in its last EPL game by Crystal Palace, but bounced back in the Champions League win this week.
To add to the drama of this matchup, we’ve come up with a 3-leg same game parlay that pays over 7/1 with FanDuel Sportsbook. Let’s break it down.
Manchester City -1 goal spread (+200)
Manchester City half-time result (+120)
Both teams to score (-174)
Parlay odds: +757
Let’s go through each of the legs in more detail, but make sure you also check out the rest of our soccer predictions for all the EPL and MLS games this weekend.
Manchester City -1 goal spread (+200)
Manchester United were torn apart by Liverpool in their last English Premier League fixture at Old Trafford and few of their supporters can feel confident about Saturday’s derby clash with Manchester City. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer clung on to his job despite the 5-0 rout by the Reds, easing the pressure with a 3-0 victory at Tottenham last weekend. United were helped by a Spurs performance so poor that it cost Nuno Espirito Santo his job and Solskjaer needs to string together a series of positive results if he is to shore up his position. City suffered a shock 2-0 home loss to Crystal Palace but they usually respond to such setbacks in ruthless fashion. After their last 6 league losses, they have won next time out, scoring 5 goals on four occasions and 4 goals once. They beat Club Brugge 4-1 in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Before the Palace upset, the Citizens’ EPL form had been impressive. They lost 1-0 at Tottenham on the opening weekend but won 6 and tied 2 of their next 8 games. They should also be encouraged by the recent history of the Manchester derby as 8 of the last 11 meetings between United and City in all competitions have been won by the road team. Take them to score a clear derby success and win by 2 goals or more.
Be sure to check out our full game preview for Manchester United vs Manchester City
Manchester City half-time result (+120)
Last term’s English Premier League game at an empty Old Trafford during the height of the Covid pandemic was a tame 0-0 tie in which the rivals mustered only 2 attempts on target each, but a more dynamic contest is expected this time. We can boost the odds of this parlay by backing City to be leading at half-time on their way to victory.
Slow starts have been a feature of Solskjaer’s time as United coach and they can struggle to recover if they fall behind against stronger teams, as Liverpool demonstrated when racing into a 4-0 half-time lead last month.
Both teams to score (-174)
Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 9 goals in 11 appearances for Manchester United this season and gave another reminder of his genius with a late equalizer in Tuesday’s 2-2 Champions League tie at Atalanta, the second of his 2 goals in the game. He, or another of United’s attackers, could expose a City defence weakened by the absence of suspended defender Aymeric Laporte, even if it ends up being only a consolation goal with City pulling away to win by 2 or more in an entertaining game. United’s last 6 games have produced goal totals of 6-5-5-3-4, so at least 1 goal at each end seems likely given the huge amount of offensive talent on the field at Old Trafford.
Don’t forget to check out our 4-game EPL Saturday parlay (+1121 odds!)
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