Prediction: Manchester City vs Manchester United

7th January 2012

Manchester City have got a great chance to prove that they have become the team to beat in England, but there are no doubts that the Red Devils will have more motives than their opponents, as they are not only looking to get revenge for the 6:1 defeat in the Premiership, but also need a morale-boosting win after back to back defeats to Blackburn and Newcastle.

Even when Manchester City were going strong on all fronts at the start to the season, everybody knew that they wouldn’t be able to avoid a dip in form at one stage of the league campaign. The Citizens indeed experienced a poor run of form, having failed to win four consecutive away games, but they weren’t made to pay for their mistakes as their title rivals had problems of their own. The 3:0 home win over Liverpool helped the players restore some of the lost confidence and saw City create a three-point advantage at the top, which certainly gives them psychological advantage in this FA Cup clash. Roberto Mancini would have liked to have been drawn alongside a weaker opponent at this stage, especially as the Carling Cup semi-final game against Liverpool is scheduled for next Wednesday, but with all City fans expecting another strong performance against the bitter rivals, the Italian cannot afford to rest his star players. Mancini is, however, forced to make some changes to the starting line-up, seeing that Toure brothers are away on international duty, whereas Gareth Barry is suspended. Mario Balotelli is doubt with an ankle problem and he probably will not be risked.

Manchester United, too, had a pretty good start to the season, hinting that they could be in for yet another successful season, but Sir Alex Ferguson’s side have suffered plenty of disappointments since. It seemed that the Red Devils managed to recover from the 6:1 defeat to City as well as Champions League and Carling Cup exits, but after their four-match winning run in the Premiership was followed by back to back defeats to Blackburn and Newcastle, nobody can safely say they can mount a serious title challenge. Having already dropped out of two important competitions, the Red Devils will give their best to progress to the next stage of the FA Cup, especially as a victory at Etihad would serve as a much needed confidence boost. Sir Alex again faces a real selection headache, seeing that Nemanja Vidic, Ashley Young, Darren Fletcher, Michael Owen, Jonny Evans and Fabio are definitely out, whereas Chris Smalling is an injury doubt.

Conclusion

If this were a semi-final clash or a final game, the two teams would be expected to adopt cautious approach, but, under these circumstances, we can be pretty sure that both City and United will show their attacking intent from the off. With that in mind, backing both teams to score looks like the right thing to do.

Verdict: Both teams to score

Best Odds: 8/11

Bookmaker: Bet365