- Manchester City takes on Manchester United in the semifinal of the English Carabao Cup on Tuesday.
- City is the reigning champions, not just of the Cup, but of the Premier League and FA Cup as well.
- Manchester United defeated Manchester City 2-1 on December 7th, 2019.
MANCHESTER, England – Manchester United will play host to Manchester City in this iteration of the Manchester Derby in the semifinals of the EFL Cup, also known as the Carabao Cup.
Manchester City, the reigning Premier League champions, are clear favorites in this game. The matchup is the first of a two-leg tie, meaning that the teams will play twice, and then the winner will be decided on aggregate.
City, under the leadership of former Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola, has been the dominant team in the English Premier League as of late. The team has won the League in both 2017-18 and 2018-19, as well as the FA cup in 2018-19 and the Football League Cup, currently known as the Carabao Cup, in 17-18 and 18-19 as well.
In other words, of the six major trophies available to teams in England over the previous two seasons, Manchester City has won five, including winning the treble in 18-19, which is something that had not been accomplished in the English men’s division.
City is on a historic run, and the team looking to stop them is a team that is desperate for victories and glory, after a long history of them.
Manchester United has been historically excellent and were in the shining light of the league for years under Sir Alex Ferguson. With Ferguson’s departure in 2013, however, the club has fallen on relatively dark times for the past several years.
Former United forward Eric Cantona opined that “Watching United play now is a bit like making love as an old man. You try as hard as you can, but at the end of the day everyone is a bit disappointed."
And rounding off The King's review of 2019... What does Eric Cantona think about the modern day Manchester United? 👀 😂 #MUFC #PL #TheKings2019 pic.twitter.com/5tvjQTMBUF
— OTRO (@OTRO) December 24, 2019
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The embarrassments have not stopped there for the erstwhile titan of the league. Watford manager Nigel Pearson, after a sound 2-0 defeat of Manchester United, had the following to say:
Watford manager Nigel Pearson asked if he expected more from Manchester United. "Not necessarily." And that sums it all up.
— Richard Martin (@Rich9908) December 22, 2019
All is not lost, however. United has defeated City this season, in a stunning 2-1 upset at City’s Etihad Stadium, one month before this game, on December 7, 2019. They will need to pull off a similar upset to win this time.
City enters the game as the favorites by a goal, and -150 favorites to win outright. United’s odds to win, at +350, are longer than the odds of the game ending in a draw, at +305.
The over/under is set at 3 goals, meaning that online sportsbooks expect a similar match to the last time these two teams met, but with a result oriented the other direction. City is now the heavy favorite, with good reason.
United have struggled, but everything is on the line here, and they have demonstrated the capability to win games like this. They’ll need it.
Maxwell joined the USAOnlineSportsbooks team in 2019. He focuses on creating sports betting content that informs and educates. He focuses on the NBA, the NFL, College Football and Basketball, and whatever else comes across his desk.
