Manchester United look set to close gap on city rivals
Victory over Arsenal last weekend could prove the tonic that sparks a moribund Manchester United into the team that finally brings an end to the dominance of their neighbours in the English Premier League.
Winning 3-1 in London did not come easy but was a massive fillip for Jose Mourinho’s side, accused of being too conservative this season yet sitting second in the standings.
They go into Sunday’s derby against leaders Manchester City at Old Trafford with an eight-point deficit but legitimate hopes of finally bringing the unbeaten run of Pep Guardiola’s team to an end.
A tactical change worked wonders in Man Utd’s last two league games against Watford and Arsenal. Mourinho started with a 3-4-1-2 formation in the 'big six' fixtures against Tottenham and Chelsea earlier this season but switched to 3-5-2 for the last two games, with Jesse Lingard and Paul Pogba pushed ahead of holding midfielder Nemanja Matic. Lingard has proven key and will need to be extra special against Man City as Pogba is suspended.
At Old Trafford, United can be expected to try and take the game to City, who have 14 wins out of 15 in the league. The Citizens had to come from behind to beat struggling West Ham 2-1 at home on Sunday.
City have lost just one of their last five league visits to United and with Mourinho under pressure for a positive result against the league leaders, they may well find more space than usual in which to play, and therefore would be a good bet for an away win.
The Premier League programme at the weekend is preceded by matches in the UEFA Champions League in midweek – including for both Man City and Man Utd. Guardiola’s side have a long trip to Ukraine to face Shakhtar Donetsk but having already qualified and will likely rest players and save them from the journey.
The Red Devils are home to CSKA Moscow tonight for what is expected to be a relatively easy assignment that will confirm them in top place in Group A.
There are still some places to be decided in the final round of group matches in the Champions League but most attention will be on the trip that Paris St Germain make to Bayern Munich. It will be another indicator of the credentials of the French side as potential European champions come next May.
Soccer 6 punters get to bet on all the Champions League, Europa League and Premier League games at the weekend, plus a busy programme for the Premier Soccer League games domestically, where there are both midweek and weekend fixtures which will bring us to the halfway point of the season.