Manchester United v Manchester City Tip

This Manchester derby will have considerably less bearing on the final destination of the Premier League title than anybody could have dreamt when the fixture list came out last summer. If City win it will only prolong the inevitable as it’s Sir Alex Ferguson’s men who kick-off with an unassailable 15 point advantage.

So obviously if the hosts win they will be 18 points clear, proving that United clearly are quite a bit better than their neighbours in 2012-13. To put it in perspective, the gap between Wigan, in the relegation zone, and Liverpool, sat in seventh, is also 18 points. And nobody thinks those teams are anything like of an equal standard.

The Red Devils have triumphed in a record-breaking 25 of their first 30 top flight matches and I see no reason to oppose them here. The value would come in predicting a scoreline and I think 1-0 looks a good bet given the run United have been on defensively. They haven’t conceded in their last 627 minutes of league football and, according to Opta, the opposition have only mustered one shot on target between them in the last three outings.

City are obviously better than most, but their away form has been decidedly lacklustre of late. The defending champions lost 3-1 at Southampton in March and then, after scoring once at Villa, they lost 2-0 to Everton at Goodison Park.

I recommend backing the 1-0 win for United at 17/2 with PaddyPower due to the promotion below. Rooney and Aguero are probably two of the three most likely goalscorers on the pitch so we have considerable money-back potential with this offer.

*If Wayne Rooney or Sergio Aguero scores the last goal, PaddyPower will refund all losing first goalscorer, last goalscorer, correct score and scorecast singles on the match.

*Sergio Aguero scored the last goal in the match therefore losing correct score bets were refunded.