Manchester City will look to maintain their 100% start to the Premier League season as they welcome Sunderland to the Etihad on Sunday afternoon.
Enzo Maresca has made a perfect start to his reign as Manchester City boss in the Premier League, with the Italian winning each of his opening four league outings.
The latest of which came in the Manchester derby last weekend, as the Cityzens controversially won 0-1 at Old Trafford against Manchester United despite playing the majority of the game with 10 men.
Manchester City also come into this clash after sealing their place in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup on Thursday night thanks to a routine 5-0 win at home to Championship side Norwich City – setting up a tie with Brighton & Hove Albion.
Sunderland saw their two-match unbeaten run in the Premier League come to an end last time out as they suffered a 0-2 defeat at home to champions Arsenal.
Two minutes after missing a penalty, the Black Cats fell behind thanks to a terrific curling strike by ex-Magpie Bruno Guimaraes, before a Bukayo Saka penalty deep in stoppage time sealed all three points for the Gunners.
However, four days later, Enzo Le Fee made up for his penalty miss against the Gunners, as he scored from the spot in a 1-0 win over AZ at the Stadium of Light on MD1 of the league phase of the Europa League on Wednesday night.
How the bookies view it: Manchester City heavy favourites
Unsurprisingly, Manchester City are favourites to maintain their 100% start in the Premier League this season, with bet365 pricing a home success at just 3/10.
The Black Cats are 8/1 underdogs to leave the Etihad with all three points, whilst the draw is 9/2.
Head to head: City dominance
Manchester City are unbeaten in each of their previous nine Premier League meetings with Sunderland (W7-D2-L0), with the Black Cats’ last win coming at the Stadium of Light back in November 2013.
However, Sunderland will take confidence from the fact that they held City to a goalless draw in their most recent meeting on New Year’s Day.
Players to watch: Haaland to guide City to three points?
Erling Haaland was given the night off in midweek following their controversial win in the Manchester derby in which he typically netted the only goal of the game – on an afternoon in which I backed him to score at 4/5.
The big Norwegian striker has now scored in each of his previous four appearances for the Cityzens, and combining him to score alongside a Manchester City victory pays a backable 3/4.
Backed a player to find the net? Check our Goalscorer Betting guide to see how the markets work and where to find value.
Predicted line-ups:
Jeremy Doku remains a doubt for Manchester City due to a calf injury, whilst Phil Foden is suspended following his red card at Old Trafford last weekend.
Sunderland will be without the suspended Reinildo and the injured Romaine Mundle and Habib Diarra, whilst Omar Alderete is a doubt.
Manchester City: Donnarumma, Nunes, Dias, Guehi, Gvardiol, Anderson, Fernandez, Semenyo, Cherki, Ndiaye, Haaland
Sunderland: Roefs, Mukiele, Ballard, Danso, Methalie, Sadiki, Xhaka, Meunier, Le Fee, Angulo, Brobbey
Anything else catch the eye?
As alluded to, Manchester City still boast a 100% record in the Premier League this season, winning each of their opening four matches.
However, they haven’t been blowing teams away, scoring just eight goals across those four victories, with each of the last two finishing 1-0.
Enzo Maresca’s hosts are just 3/10 to win, but combining that with Under 3.5 Goals pays a more backable 23/20 at bet365.
Manchester City vs Sunderland Betting Tips & Predictions
Further Reading
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