Sunderland v Manchester City Betting
Will Manchester City be the first team to win at the Stadium Of Light this term? The Premier League betting sites think that this is a likely outcome. Pep Guardiola's side are trading at 1.50 to claim three points on Wearside. That equates to a 66% probability that they'll land a victory. The victories have been coming thick and fast for the north-west club after a shaky start to the campaign.
Since losing 2-1 at Newcastle and then being beaten at home to Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League, there have been seven straight victories in all competitions. All is well with a team who have largely been setting the benchmark at the top of the table, with a crazy 5-4 victory at Fulham being followed by successes at Real Madrid and Crystal Palace.
Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol make for a formidable central defensive combination and the form of Phil Foden has been excellent. It always helps to have the scoring power of Erling Haaland, with the Norwegian looking a likely scorer against any team and it will be interesting to see if Sunderland manage to contain him.
The Black Cats could be worth chancing on the Double Result market considering their unbeaten status in front of their own fans. They deservedly held Arsenal to a 2-2 draw and there was also a 1-0 win over Newcastle in the Tyne-Wear derby, with the team buoyed on by formidable home support.
The aim will have been to merely stay in the top-flight this term although they now have a free hit in these sort of fixtures, with Granit Xhaka charging the team forward as captain and perhaps we can oppose City in this New Year's Day encounter.
Goals Under/Over
The goals are normally raining when Manchester City take to the field. The bookies think Over 2.5 Goals is a likely outcome at the Stadium Of Light on New Year's Day, with that being a regular occurrence in matches involving Pep Guardiola's side. On the road, the five past games have all seen at least three scored including that crazy 5-4 win over Fulham.
There was also a 2-1 success at the Bernabeu and a 3-0 win at Selhurst Park. The teams met at the Etihad Stadium at the beginning of December in a one-sided game where City were able to claim a 3-0 victory. On that occasions, they had six shots on target against a side who could only muster one attempt on goal.
However, Sunderland average nearly two goals per game in front of their own fans. They will want to attack and avoid trying to camp in their own half against dangerous opposition, with the odds looking fair in this market.
BTTS
There's not a great deal of difference between the BTTS Yes and BTTS No betting odds. The former is slightly shorter and the biggest question is whether Sunderland will manage to score. They drew a blank at the Etihad Stadium although it's been a different story at the Stadium Of Light this term.
No team has stopped Sunderland scoring on Wearside this term. They managed two against Arsenal a couple of months ago and that came against a defence regarded as the best in Europe. However, there's a feeling that the goals have dried up a little in recent contests. After that 3-0 defeat at City came a slender 1-0 win in the Tyne-Wear derby which needed a Nick Woltemade own goal to settle affairs.
There was then a goalless draw at Brighton and perhaps similar tactics will be deployed here in order to fashion a positive result. However, we're talking about a Sunderland side who always score at home this season and a City team who are adept at finding the net in virtually all of their games.
First Goalscorer
At the time of writing, Erling Haaland is one away from twenty Premier League goals for the season. There haven't been too many matches where the master marksman has failed to find the net. Interestingly, the 25-year-old failed to score at home to Sunderland although followed that up with a strike against Real Madrid before notching braces against Crystal Palace and West Ham.
If Haaland is thwarted, then Phil Foden needs to be considered. There have been six goals across the previous seven games, with the England midfielder rediscovering the form that has helped Manchester City enjoy plenty of silverware over the years. Maybe we will also see Rayan Cherki get in amongst the scoring, with the Frenchman capable of finding the net more for Guardiola's side.
Enzo La Fee is on penalty duties for Sunderland and he's notched a couple of goals this season, although Brian Brobbey is the Dutchman likely to lead the line against City. He has fired goals against Arsenal and Bournemouth recently, with the Black Cats coming from two goals down in the latter encounter to claim a 3-2 success.