Man City vs Man Utd Prediction: Red Devils to defy the odds again?

England's annual curtain-raiser takes place on Saturday afternoon (KO, 15:00 on ITV) as rivals Manchester City and Manchester United will battle it out to claim the first piece of silverware of the 2024/25 campaign.

Erik ten Hag's side managed to topple Pep Guardiola's men in the FA Cup final last season, but City will be out for revenge under the famous arch of Wembley Stadium. Read on for my Man Utd vs Man City prediction, as well as the latest team news and match odds.

Football Odds

Team News

New signing Leny Yoro will be absent for this encounter after undergoing surgery on his foot, while Rasmus Hojlund will also miss out here with a hamstring injury.

Ten Hag has revealed that the defensive quartet of Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof, Luke Shaw and Aaron Wan-Bissaka are doubts and will be assessed before kick off. Meanwhile, summer signing Joshua Zirkzee has taken part in training this week and could be handed his debut on Saturday.

As for Man City, Ederson has emerged as a doubt for the weekend after missing the pre-season friendly against Chelsea, while Euro 2024 finalists Rodri, Phil Foden, Kyle Walker and John Stones are yet to report back to first-team duties.

However, the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Erling Haaland, Bernardo Silva, Jeremy Doku, Ruben Dias, Manuel Akanji and new signing Savio are expected to be involved.

Man City vs Man Utd Odds

*Please click on the link above to be taken to the main Man City vs Man Utd page on betfred.com (or app) for all the live betting prices on this match.

City are favourites to claim the first piece of silverware of the season at 8/15 - which gives them a theoretical probability of 65.2%, while the draw is 16/5, and a United triumph can be backed at 18/5 - all 90 minute betting.

Over 2.5 goals is 4/9, while unsurprisingly, Erling Haaland is favourite to break the deadlock at 5/2.

Double Chance - Draw or Manchester United @ 13/10

Manchester United defied all expectations to salvage what was a miserable season by beating Manchester City in the FA Cup final just three months ago, and they have the chance to get their hands on some more silverware this weekend.

City's domestic dominance during Pep Guardiola's tenure at the Etihad has seen them compete in plenty of Community Shield clashes, but they've lost their last three and their overall record in this competition is underwhelming considering their recent success, with just six wins from 15 appearances.

Their last Community Shield victory was in 2019, and the both clashes with United in this fixture have resulted in the red half of Manchester coming out on top, most recently in a 3-2 win in 2011.

With City heavy favourites for the game, I've had a look for some better value (or perhaps delusion as a United fan), and opted to back double chance - draw or United.

Erling Haaland to score first @ 5/2

Erling Haaland netted three goals in City's pre-season win over Chelsea, which isn't really a surprise given he's now scored two hat-tricks in his last six appearances for club and country - and nine in total.

The Norwegian international relishes the occasion against City's local rivals, and he's scored six goals and recorded three assists in his last six appearances against the Red Devils.

At 5/2, that's decent value for him to break the deadlock at Wembley.

Offers

Acca Flex: Place a pre-match 5+ leg Football accumulator and get a CASH bonus up to 50% if all of your selections win or your money back as CASH if one leg lets you down.

Betfred are running their famed Double Delight & Hat-trick Heaven Pre-Match offer on this match, meaning that if a player scores first and then nets again, you will be paid at double the odds. If he grabs a hat-trick, you will be paid at treble the odds!

You can read all our latest Football Betting Tips at our dedicated Betfred Insights content hub.