Betdistrict.com
Poor, poor Sunderland. They have got in my opinion the toughest fixture in the league, not surprise that they collected their first two wins in the last 3 games. They stepped up firstly against Fulham, but after that the massive Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United-trio travelled to the Stadium of Light amd to be honest, there were nowhere in the air that the home side could cause a solid surprise. The sudden revulsion turned up against Newcastle at the Tyne-Wear derby. A result of 2-1 proved that even teams with the most miserable form can maintain and step over the statistics and fire up for a derby. This was followed by Hull City's tight victory and a 2-1 win over Southampton. So after 10 matches, Sunderland take their place at the bottom (19th), 1-1-8, only 7 goals scored but 22 conceded, they have got the worst defense in the EPL.
So, not only their form but their defense is what gives sometimes a heart attack to the fans. Sunderland will be without Lee Cattermole and Andrea Dossena after both were sent off last weekend. Goalkeeper Kieren Westwood picked up a neck injury at Hull and is a doubt, so Vito Mannone could keep his place in goal. In the expected starting line up only the goalkeeper is over 7 in the ratings but the others are far behind him. This means that their relegation threat reflects well how every single player performs. I think they have in the roster some really promising, talented men like Borino, Giaccherini and the former City player Adam Johnson. They must be the reason why the Black Cats can score today. And they did, almost all of their home games ended with 1 or 2 home goals (4/5). The reason can be the aiming here. In average 15 shots threaten the opponent's goal. 3 goes on target and 1 is a scored goal (20% on target/shot, 33% goal/on target and 6.6% goal/shot ratio). Other important tendencies that they like attacking dow the left side and shooting from outside. All in all, they can see the light of surprise after winning 2 out of their last 3 matches. I expect at least a goal from them. But will it be enough?
Predicted starting eleven: Mannone - Celustka, Brown, O'Shea, Bardsley - A. Johnson, Gardner, Ki, Colback, Giaccherini - Altidore. (4-5-1)
Coach: Poyet
Not available: Cattermole, Dossena (suspended)
No doubt that the opponent is in top form recently. Just have a look at their last two matches: 7-0 against Norwich and 5-2 against CSKA Moscow. City started the season promising but a drop on their form occured almost every away match. They have lost 3 out of their 5 games away and this is the right time to make it 50-50% (3/6) and they should take advantage on Chelsea's draw.Manchester City is spotted on the 7th place (6-1-3, 28 goals scored). Their strikers have become classic with each other, Negredo and Aguero have a 90 minutes goal threat in their foot. Aguero is the top goal scorer with 8 goals (7.7 rating) and Negredo started to maintain during the last month (6.99 rating). They have netted 15 times in the 6 games they have started alongside one another. However, the team's best midfielder is out with a calf injury, we are talking about David Silva and the team has to deal with it and they do it well. Fernandinho, Javi Garcia and Vincent Kompany are likely to be out for the game, too. Another important information that Joe Hart's loss in form made Pellegrini to change him to Pantilimon. Nastasic and Demichelis could start today and knowing thier lack of confidence, Sunderland may score a goal.
City likes to play on both sides and shoot from the middle inside the box. Their style builds on controlling the game in the opposition's half, short passes and the possession of football (60% on away matches). The strikers and midfielders release 16 shots per game, 6 on target, 1.6 goals per away match (8/5). The 37.5% on target/shoot is quite good, the 26.6% goal/on target is also a nice ratio. I expect Aguero to score at least one.
Probable starting eleven: Costel Pantilimon; Pablo Zabaleta, Matija Nastasic, Martin Demichelis, Aleksandar Kolarov; Javi Garcia, Yaya Toure; Samir Nasri, Sergio
Aguero, Jesus Navas; Alvaro Negredo.
Coach: Pellegrini
Injuries: Silva, Kompany, Jovetic, Wright
Pick: Both teams to score
Odds: 1.8
Bookmaker: ➾ Bet365
Stake: 10 units
Tipster: Tipstar
| TIPSTER: Tipstar | Total profit: -26 | Tips won: 0 |
| Country: Hungary | Total yield: -100.00% | Tips lost: 3 |
| Speciality: Football, NFL | Total picks: 3 | Tips pushed: 0 |
| 10.11 | • Sunderland - Manchester City | 1.8 | 10 | ❌ | -10 |
| 10.11 | • Manchester United - Arsenal | 2 | 8 | ❌ | -8 |
| 08.11 | • Granada - Malaga | 1.85 | 8 | ❌ | -8 |
