Premier League Betting: Sunderland v Man City

Premier League / Mike Norman / 13 March 2010 / Leave a Comment

Carlos Tevez has been in fine form since joining Manchester City and he will be looking to get on the scoresheet against Sunderland on Sunday

Best Bet: Back Man City @ [2.26] to beat Sunderland

Also: Back Over 2.5 Goals @ [2.08]; Back Tevez To Score @ [2.4]; Back 1-3 (to Man City) Correct Score @ [22.0] and Any Unquoted Score @ [13.0] (split stakes).

Roberto Mancini's men may have been flattered by their excellent victory over Chelsea, but they are still capable of scoring goals home or away says "Mystical" Mike Norman. Best Bet: Back Man City @ [2.26] to beat Sunderland.

I asked myself two questions when preparing to preview this game; have Sunderland turned the corner following their 4-0 thrashing of Bolton in midweek, and are Man City as good as their 4-2 victory over Chelsea suggests they are? In both cases I came to the conclusion that the most likely answer is no.

For long periods against Bolton the Black Cats were on the back foot. The early goal they scored gave them something to defend, which they did well whilst hitting the Trotters on the break. True, Steve Bruce's men ran out easy winners in the end, but against a better side than Bolton, Sunderland could easily have been two or three one down before getting a second goal of their own. Prior to that victory the north-east club had gone 14 games without tasting success, and had scored just three goals at the Stadium of Light since beating Arsenal in November.

Man City's excellent win over Chelsea almost certainly flatters them. I've seen no signs whatsoever that under Roberto Mancini, the Citizens are a better side than they were under Mark Hughes. That victory at Stamford Bridge should give them the confidence and belief to move forward however, and if City have any aspirations of qualifying for the Champions League they can ill afford to follow a win over Chelsea with a defeat to lowly Sunderland.

In the Match Odds market Sunderland can be backed at [3.7], Man City are the favourites to take all three points at [2.26], whilst The Draw is available to back at [3.5].

A full strength Sunderland side might have been able to get something from the game, but the fact that captain Lorik Cana is suspended, and the gritty Lee Cattermole is set to miss out with a hamstring injury, is a huge loss to the Black Cats' midfield. Man City's midfield is set to be strengthened meanwhile as the ageing, but still very capable Patrick Vieira is available after serving a three-match ban. In attack, Emmanuel Adebayor remains suspended.

Confidence in a Man City victory is high with the knowledge that they have won nine consecutive league games against today's rivals, including four on the bounce at the Stadium of Light. At [2.26] to back, a win for City is my best bet of the game, but I've also had a wager on Man City/Man City at [3.85] in the Half Time/Full Time market. Alternatives to this selection are Draw/Man City ([5.9]) or Draw/Draw ([5.4]). I'm not a fan of any option today that includes Sunderland being the winning side.

Understandably with the attacking players available to them, Man City are not scared to run in a few goals at least. They've already scored three or more goals in a game on nine occasions this season, and if you remember correctly, the reverse of this fixture ended 4-3 to the home side at the City of Manchester Stadium. For this reason then, I'm definitely in the Over 2.5 Goals camp at [2.08] and wouldn't rule out Over 3.5 Goals at [3.85], especially with Sunderland's Darren Bent and City's Carlos Tevez maintaining their form for the majority of the season.

Not surprisingly Tevez and Bent are at the head of the First Goalscorer market - available to back at [5.6] and [7.2] respectively - just ahead of Roque Santa Cruz ([7.4]) and Craig Bellamy ([7.6]). Tevez can be backed at [2.4] To Score at anytime and I make this another selection today.

Finally, in the Correct Score market I'm going for a few speculative selections. On any given day City can easily score three or four so try 1-3 - available to back at [22.0] - and Any Unquoted (any team to score at least four) at [13.0].

*The game is live this Sunday, Sky Sports 1, kick-off 4pm