Manchester City vs Sunderland — Tips & Analysis

Sunderland +1.75: City keep winning, but they keep winning small, and that is the whole case for Sunderland here. City have won by 2 or more goals in only 6 of their last 17 games, and seven of their wins came by exactly one goal. They score just over 2 goals a game and let in under a goal a game, so they are clearly the better team. They are also short of their two quickest wide men. Foden is suspended and Doku is doubtful with a calf problem, so the runners who usually pull a deep defence apart are missing. City played a cup tie on 17 September and have had 3 days since their last game. Sunderland are built for this kind of night. They have kept three clean sheets in their last five, winning 1-0 against AZ Alkmaar, Hull City and Fulham. They have lost by 2 or more goals in only 3 of their last 17. Diarra and Mundle are out and Mandava is suspended, so they will sit deep and dig in. The likeliest single score is a 2-0 to City, and we should be honest, that is not enough for us. We need Sunderland to lose by no more than one, or take something. The worry is the history. City have won 11 of the last 18 meetings and those games averaged just over 3 goals. Sunderland's clean sheets keep us on their side.