Manchester City will look to keep pace with leaders Arsenal as they welcome high-flying Sunderland to the Etihad on Saturday afternoon.
Manchester City have bounced back from their defeat away at Newcastle a fortnight ago, just about, as they claimed a pair of dramatic victories at home to Leeds United and away at Fulham to move within five points of leaders Arsenal.
Pep Guardiola’s hosts have now won seven of their previous nine Premier League contests, with their stoppage-time victory over Leeds last weekend being their sixth consecutive success at the Etihad.
Sunderland’s fairytale return to the Premier League continued on Wednesday night, as they drew 1-1 away at reigning champions Liverpool at Anfield on an evening in which I successfully backed a low-scoring encounter.
That point means the Black Cats remain in sixth position in the Premier League table, with Regis Le Bris’s men only five points behind their hosts.
How the bookies view it: City short-priced favourites
The bookies are expecting Manchester City to record a seventh consecutive victory at the Etihad in the Premier League on Saturday, with bet365 pricing a home success at just 1/4.
Bet365 have an away success at a massive 9/1, which may tempt a few punters, whilst the draw is 11/2.
Head to head: City dominance
Manchester City dominated this fixture prior to Sunderland’s relegation from the Premier League in 2016/17, with the Citizens unbeaten in each of their last nine Premier League meetings (W8-D1-L0).
Players to watch: Foden to Phil his boots
Phil Foden was the hero in City’s last home game against Leeds United, as his stoppage-time strike was not only his second of the game but also the winning strike.
The England international also bagged a brace in their thrilling 4-5 victory at Fulham in midweek, and is an appealing 8/5 at bet365 to find the target once again.
Predicted line-ups:
Manchester City will still be without the injured midfield duo of Rodri and Mateo Kovacic.
Sunderland look set to be without Aji Alese, Dennis Cirkin, Leo Fuhr Hjelde and Habib Diarra again through injury.
Manchester City: Donnarumma, Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly, Gonzalez, Reijnders, Silva, Foden, Doku, Haaland
Sunderland: Roefs, Mukiele, Ballard, Alderete, Reinaldo, Xhaka, Sadiki, Traore, Le Fee, Talbi, Isidor
Anything else catch the eye?
Manchester City’s last eight matches in all competitions have gone goal-crazy, with them averaging a whopping 4.38 goals per game, with Both Teams to Score paying out in six (75%) of them.
Whilst Pep Guardiola's hosts have been scoring for fun, they have kept a solitary shutout across those eight matches, shipping eight goals in their last three.
Both Teams to Score has also been a winning selection in five of Sunderland’s last six Premier League outings, and a repeat pays an appealing 1/1 at Betfred.
Interested in why both teams scoring is such a strong angle? Check out our Masterclass on BTTS and sharpen your match-reading game.
GambleAware