Sport
Midweek Preview: City can’t be stopped in unequal Manchester Derby
The football is unrelenting at the moment and Wednesday brings another busy evening of action, with matches in the Premier League, La Liga and the Coppa Italia to keep us entertained. As such, our resident tipster Ed Acteson casts his eye over the £5,000 1X2 Pick 5 pool and has unearthed three fancies, including a preview of the Manchester Derby.
Wolves vs. Arsenal
Arsenal’s defending during their 3-2 defeat at home to Crystal Palace on Sunday was, to put it mildly, shambolic. Shkodran Mustafi was vilified on social media for his part in the loss and, barring injuries elsewhere, it’s hard to see him maintaining his place in the side.
The Gunners had much of the possession but Palace looked as though they could score every time they attacked and the manner in which Christian Benteke was left unmarked to head home the first before Wilfried Zaha was allowed to muscle his way through for the second will have given Unai Emery nightmares.
Arsenal haven’t been great on their travels and sit ninth in the league’s away table, having won just six of 16 games and only two of their last ten away from the Emirates.
Where better to go then than a Wolves side who have made their name in giant killings during their first season back in the league? With victories over Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester United this season as well as draws against Arsenal, Man City and Liverpool, Wolves simply love upsetting the status quo.
It is against the smaller sides when they struggle, as recent defeats to Southampton, Burnley and Huddersfield will testify. In fact Wolves have only won two of their last nine and are in danger of ending their season on a whimper.
Given these factors it’s extremely tempting to back Wolves for the win and should that happen, I might kick myself. However, instead I’m going to opt for the draw. Wolves have drawn four of their last nine and I’d expect an upturn in Arsenal’s performance that can help them nab a point.
Verdict: Draw
Man Utd vs. Man City
The big one. Rarely has more been at stake in a Manchester derby. On one hand you have a United team who are falling apart at the seams and were stuffed 4-0 by Everton at the weekend. The manager apologised to the fans after the drubbing and a queue of ex-players were lining up to stick the boot into the woeful performance.
They are now underdogs in the race to seal a Champions League spot and will play this match knowing that their performance will effectively decide which of their hated rivals wins the title. It’s not a great situation.
On the other hand you have Man City, the defending Premier League champions, who are desperately trying to hold off Liverpool in their quest to be the first side to defend the league title since United managed it a decade ago.
City are, on paper, huge favourites to take advantage of their stuttering local rivals but does the formbook go out of the window for derbies? After all, it was in April last year that United claimed a shock victory against the odds at the Etihad to delay City’s title party.
On this occasion, however, I’m inclined to side with City. Pep Guardiola’s men have won two out of their last three at Old Trafford and both of those were against United teams in better nick than this one. City have had a lot of tough games recently but their squad is so deep that they can deal with it and I fancy them to swot United aside.
Verdict: Man City
AC Milan vs. Lazio
We head to Italy for our third pick, where AC Milan take on Lazio in the Coppa Italia. It is the second time the sides have met at the San Siro in the space of ten days, after Milan ran out 1-0 winners last Saturday in Serie A.
Franck Kessié was the hero on that day, scoring the only goal of the game to claim all three points for the Rossoneri but it was an even contest in which Milan only narrowly edged possession and shots on target.
Neither side are in particularly good form, each winning one of their last five matches and there are only four points between them in the league, suggesting that it will once again be a tight, nervy affair.
With just five games remaining, Milan are in serious danger of slipping out of the fourth Champions League place with Atalanta, Roma, Torino and Lazio all breathing down their neck so they will need to up their game in this one.
However, I’m not backing them to do so. In situations such as this where there is so little between two sides with low confidence, I find the most sensible course of action to be supporting the stalemate. Lazio are draw specialists, tying 11 of their 33 league contests this season including two of the last five, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see that trend continue.
Verdict: Draw
