Man City vs. Fulham Betting Tips: Kevin de Bruyne and Aleksandar Mitrovic backed

Man City can return to the top of the Premier League table on Saturday afternoon should they beat Fulham at the Etihad in one of four 3pm kick-offs.

Below we preview the clash, give an update on Erling Haaland, and provide you with two tips…

Man City’s 3-1 win at home to Sevilla in their final Champions League group stage match extended their winning run on home soil to nine matches this season, and 14 if the backend of last term is included. During that 14 game winning run at the Etihad, City have smashed in 58 goals, which is an average of 4.14 goals per game in front of their home fans. Monster numbers.

City fans - and FPL fans alike - will be waiting with bated breath for the teamsheet to see if Erling Haaland returns following a two-game absence. "He’s much better, so we’ll decide today,” Pep Guardiola said on Friday. “We have training this afternoon and then we’ll see. It all depends on himself, his opinion and the doctors opinion. It could be 90 minutes or less.” So, it definitely sounds far more promising for Haaland who is now expected to feature at some point against Fulham.

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Speaking of Fulham, they will make the trip North looking to become the first team to beat Man City on their own patch in 15 games dating back to April. Marco Silva’s 7th-placed side have enjoyed an excellent start to the season and with star man Aleksandar Mitrović in such glistening form this campaign you simply can’t rule them out.

However, it is City who have been handed odds of just 1/10 to record the win that will send them top until at least Arsenal play Chelsea on Sunday lunchtime. Fulham are a big price at 22/1 to carve out a stunning win, while a draw can be backed at 9/1.

Despite Fulham’s impressive start, it’s difficult to see anything other than another Man City home win as they bid to make it 15 victories on a spin at the Etihad. With or without Sir Haaland.

City have scored at least three goals in their last 10 home matches (Premier League) and conceded in nine during that 14 game run in all competitions, including the last two.

Marco Silva’s side have scored five more goals this season than the likes of Chelsea and Man Utd, and scored against Arsenal, Liverpool, and Spurs.  With Mitrovic on the prowl I think the visitors have an excellent chance of causing City problems and to at least find the back of the net. 

10Bet offer a best-priced 16/11 for a City win and both teams to score, which I’m selecting for the first tip. The same bookmaker also have England at an enhanced 10/1 to win the World Cup, while new customers can take advantage of a 50% bonus on their first deposit up to £50.

The pre-match build-up may focus on the availability of the sensational Erling Haaland, but the focus of our BetBuilder spins in the direction of Kevin de Bruyne and Aleksandar Mitrovic, with whom we’re backing to both score at a combined 11/1 with bet365.

De Bruyne scored a beautiful free-kick last weekend in the 1-0 win against Leicester, which briefly took his side top of the table. He’s now found the back of the net in his last two league games, extending his tally to 12 goal contributions in 12 league games this season.

As for Mitrovic, yes he may have somehow fired blanks last weekend after having 10 shots against Everton but on a different day the striker could have bagged a hatful. No player in the Premier League has had more shots than Mitrovic’s 56 - nine more than Haaland - with the Serbian scoring nine goals in the process, including a brace against Liverpool.

He’s an absolute menace for any defender, while we’ll leave you with this quote from Pep Guardiola’s presser: "He’s a competitor and he pulls defenders to their limits. He’s clinical.”

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