Not exactly a vote of confidence from the bookies
Manchester United have been handed the longest odds in the club’s history going into Wednesday’s Manchester derby against Pep Guardiola’s City side.
Coming off the back of a 4-0 hammering to Everton at Goodison Park and four defeats in five games in all competitions (as well as just two wins in eight), Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men have hit a rather desperate bit off form since the Norwegian signed a three-year contract at the end of March and morale appears to have plummeted in the squad as a result.
Given what’s at stake for club regarding a Champions League spot next season – and the fact that either City or Liverpool are winning the league whatever happens – United fans won’t be too thrilled to hear that some bookmakers have them as far out as 6/1 to win at Old Trafford Wednesday, the longest odds they have ever received at home in the Premier League.
City are a hefty odds on price at 2/5 to win and leapfrog Liverpool at the top of the table, who will play the relegated Huddersfield Town on Friday.
Even Liverpool centre-back Virgil Van Dijk isn’t holding out much hope for an upset, stating that United “need to do themselves a favour” on Monday when he was asked whether they could help out Liverpool.
Perhaps the most telling sign ahead of the match is the fact that Man City have six players shorter than the first Manchester United player in the first goalscorer odds market. Sergio Aguero, Gabriel Jesus, Raheem Sterling, Leroy Sane and Riyad Mahrez are all deemed more likely to score before a single United player, which is Romelu Lukaku at a relatively long 15/2.
When you realise that City will likely only start with two or three of the six players listed above, the difference in the perceived quality of the two squads is telling.
