Weekend Predictions: All Square at Old Trafford

Some weekends, the fixture list is just full of derbies. This is such a weekend.

My predictions for Man Utd vs Liverpool, Celtic vs Rangers and PSG vs O’M are below.

And once again, I’m challenging you to make your own predictions in the comments.

Man Utd vs Liverpool, Saturday, March 14th, 12:45
To borrow Rob’s phrase, this is the Premier League’s very own El Clasico. Or, since it’s in England: The Classic. Which somehow sounds a lot less exciting.

The rivalry between English football’s two most successful teams is pretty much fueled by hatred, which – if we’re honest – always makes for a good game. Then there’s the question of the title. If Liverpool want to be taken seriously again, it’s all about getting three points at Old Trafford.

Sounds like a tough ask, but we’re talking about a team that just beat Real Madrid 5-0 on aggregate. Plus, Rafa Benitez seems to have finally worked out how to beat the Big Four, while Fergie’s men haven’t been as successful as you’d think against their peers this season. Should be a good one.

Prediction: I’ve twice tried predicting Man Utd defeats, and twice failed. So let’s split the difference and call it a draw. Not a dull goalless draw, more like an exciting 2-2 affair.

Odds:
Man Utd 10-11, Draw 23-10, Liverpool 10-3
2-2 draw: 14-1
C-Ron first goalscorer: 5-1
Hate filled Rooney first goal: 11-2
Torres first goal: 13-2
Gerrard last goal: inevitable 9-1
More odds at PaddyPower

Bonus Prediction: Rafa’s pre-match teamtalk: “Pretend is Champions League, jes?”

Celtic vs Rangers, League Cup Final, Sunday, 15th March, 15:00

Doesn’t matter that it’s only the League Cup (or the Co-Operative Insurance Cup if you prefer). It’s Rangers vs Celtic people. And even though they play each other about 600 times a season, and play each other by-proxy week in and week out in the seemingly neverending title race, it’s still reasonably rare for them to face off in a proper cup final.

Prediction: Another 2-2 draw, with (tosses coin…) Celtic winning on penalties.

Odds:
Rangers 17-10, Draw 11-5, Celtic 17-10
2-2 draw: 12-1
Maurice Edu first to see a red card: 18-1
More odds at PaddyPower

Bonus Prediction: Sacha Kljestan to watch via satellite with a sad face, and regret scoring that hat-trick vs Sweden. Poor fella.

PSG vs Marseille, March 15, 21:00

Lyon lead Ligue 1, as usual, but PSG and O’M are just one and four points behind, respectively. So as well as being a derby, this is a bit like the fight to decide the mandatory title challenger.

PSG could even go top with a win if Lyon fail to beat Auxerre, while O’M will be looking to avenge the 4-2 home defeat PSG handed them back in October.

There’s also the old cultural clash between the capital and the south. I think. Although I’m reliably informed that this derby was sort of created in the boardroom of Canal+, a bit like Frankenstein’s monster.

Prediction: I can’t go 2-2 again, so I’m going to back PSG to get a 1-0 home win.

Odds:
PSG 13-10, Draw 2-1, Marseille 11-5
1-0 win for PSG: 11-2
PSG to win by three goals: 16-1
More odds at PaddyPower

Bonus Prediction: O’M captain Lorik Cana will crush anyone who gets in his way. That’s not so much a prediction as a fact.

Over at Bet Offside, Offshore Oscar is backing Sunderland to beat Wigan, Real Madrid to beat Athletic Bilbao and Hibs to beat Hearts in the Edinburgh derby.

Time for a look back at last week’s predictions.

Here’s what I went with:
Real Madrid 2-1 Atletico Madrid
Torino 1-1 Juventus
Fulham 3-2 Man Utd

And here’s what actually happened:
Real Madrid 1-1 Atletico Madrid
Torino 0-1 Juventus
Fulham 0-4 Man Utd

Not even close. And only myself to blame for backing Fulham. Based on our scoring system (one point for correct result, extra two points for correct scoreline) I get (calculating, calculating…) zero points. Boo.

But congratulations to the following people, whose crystal balls were clearly working:

Gold
Hommeyer: 7 points (spot on with Madrid and Juve results, had Man Utd win but not scoreline)
Rob: 7 points (spot on with Madrid and Juve results, had Man Utd win but not scoreline)

Silver
Peter: 5 points (Madrid derby spot on, plus Juve and Man Utd wins)
fwembt: 5 points (Madrid derby spot on, plus Juve and Man Utd wins)

Bronze
Maryam: 4 points (Juve scoreline, plus Man Utd win)
elle: 4 points (Juve scoreline, plus Man Utd win)
john: 4 points (Juve scoreline, plus Man Utd win)
Amit Bindra: 4 points (Juve scoreline, plus Man Utd win)

Lots of shared medals there, so I’m changing the scoring system for next week to make things a bit more flexible:

One point for correct result, and then one bonus point for each team’s correct goal total.

So, let’s have you predictions for this week’s games…

Man Utd vs Liverpool
Celtic vs Rangers
PSG vs Marseille

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Category: World Football