Bet on a goalfest as Man United and Man City prepare for battle

Although the meeting of Manchester United and Manchester City appears of little importance with regards to league implications, it is a match both sides will be desperate to win.

But as the result is of such scarce statistical concern, match betting markets may be best avoided by punters studying the game.

Instead, betting on the total number of goals within the fixture looks the way to go, and recent trends suggest the net will bulge several times at Old Trafford.

Indeed, in four of the past five meetings between this pair in all competitions, a minimum of five goals have been registered, with those shared across both sides on each of those occasions.

And as such, the 19/5 odds that at least 4.5 strikes emerge from this match make much appeal.

To lend further weight to this claim, it should be noted that at least five goals have emanated from 15 league matches involving these sides this season.

And whilst United have been responsible for a majority 11 of these, City have sharpened their goalscoring edge of late, notching 16 times in their past six matches in all competitions, and on nine occasions in their last three league games.

Furthermore, punters may find it of particular interest that two of the past three Old Trafford league meetings between this pair have reaped an exact total of seven strikes.

17/2 is the price that in excess of 5.5 total goals are emergent from this renewal of acquaintances, whilst 20/1 is available regarding the possibility of the net bulging seven or more times.

As exactly five strikes have stemmed from four of the past six encounters of these two though, and two of the last three, that outcome may prove more popular with punters at 7/1.

These statistics, along with the possible absences of Nemanja Vidic and Vincent Kompany for United and City respectively, means betting on goal markets seems a more sensible option than simply attempting to pick a winner of the Manchester derby.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.