EPL Odds: United Face Relegation Side Sunderland

Manchester United (-400) vs. Sunderland (+1600), Draw (+600)

Relegation threat Sunderland (4-2-11, 14 points) will take on Manchester United (8-6-3, 30 points) on Monday, December 26th at Old Trafford Stadium for the 18th round of the English Premier League.

The title hopes for United are now a thing of the past, being 13 points behind table leading Chelsea. The Red Devils have not lost a game in eight rounds, but they have failed time and time again to capitalize against lesser teams, ending up with a draw.

Their best hope now is to play for fourth or fifth, landing either a Champions League Qualifiers shot or a spot in the Europa League. Right now in sixth place, United would not get either.

Defenders Chris Smalling and Eric Bailey are expected to be back from injury in time for the game, giving Mourinho some flexibility on defense. Up front, Mourinho has to make a decision between Wayne Rooney or Anthony Martial. Recently, Rooney has been starting from the bench to give way to Martial. But Rooney has exceeded expectations in his last few games, and he may make the starting lineup for Monday’s game.

Sunderland are fighting relegation as they sit 18th, just two points away from escaping the relegation zone. There’s an extra incentive for manager David Moyes, too. Moyes was unceremoniously sacked from his role as the Man U manager a few seasons ago, and a win against his former club would be sweet revenge. The failure of the managers that followed him offered some vindication, and it’s been well reported the United team under Moyes fared better than the United squads under Mourinho and Van Gaal.

Sunderland had a disastrous start to the season, only winning their first game in the 11th round. But since then, they have been rapidly improving. They’ve won four of their last seven games and have a great goalscorer in Jermain Defoe, who has eight goals this season. That’s more than half the goals Sunderland have scored so far.

United are the superior team on paper, but they have been known to draw with far inferior teams. If the Sunderland defense can hold on, they have a real shot at grabbing a point.

Pick: Draw (+600)

Photo credit: “Wayne Rooney” by Ian C CC BY-SA 2.0 [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0], via Flickr.