Value in siding with Man Utd in league and derby double

The outcome of the Manchester derby is certain to have a huge bearing on where the Premier League title heads this season and both participants’ chances of claiming the crown will be boosted with three points over their cross-town foes.

Ladbrokes have the City variant of the Manchester mob priced up at 5/1 to claim the title in addition to winning this match, while the United equivalent are at 10s to do the same thing.

Both Manuel Pellegrini and David Moyes are sampling this clash for the first time and will be aware of the fact that in five of the past six seasons which either club has reigned supreme in England, they’ve won the first league, all-Manc stand off of the campaign.

The only time that this stipulation hasn’t applied was in the 2010/11 vintage when the pair produced a goalless draw at the Etihad.

Aside from that though, United have won the first derby of the campaign four times and gone on to win the league, while City’s 6-1 routing of their neighbours at Old Trafford came in the year they lifted their solo Premier League pot.

In the most recent clashes between the pair favour has shined on the away team, with the visitors snatching the spoils from under the noses of their adversaries in four of the previous six inter-city dust ups.

This may make backing the Red Devils’ hefty 10/1 to beat their oil-rich namesakes before going on to retain the title in May a shrewd course of action to take, while their 12/5 to win the game outright is well-worth entertaining, even if they’ve only prevailed in two of their last seven away games.

On only five occasions, though, have United been bettered in City’s relatively new back yard and just twice when on league duty since the Citizens became richer than a lottery-winning astronaut.

With Moyes out to lay down a title marker to all the doubt mongers, back United to get the job done when these two nemeses lock horns.

All odds and markets accurate as of publication’s time and date