It is a day of reckoning in Manchester.
With the Premier League title possibly hanging in the balance, and the top four race definitely in the balance, Manchester City makes the trip on the metro from the Etihad Campus up through Piccadilly Gardens, then heads out on the Altringham line to Old Trafford, for the game of the year in the Premier League.
The Citizens trail Liverpool by two points in the Premier League table, with a match in hand. City has four games left in the league, plus a F.A. Cup final in mid-May: the Manchester United game Wednesday, away to Burnley, home to Leicester City, and away to Brighton & Hove Albion.
If the Citizens are going to slip up at all, one would suspect it would be today. But Manchester United is in shambles. The Red Devils have fallen apart of late, and sit in sixth place on 64 points.
But as they have been faltering, so have the teams ahead of the Red Devils. Chelsea and Arsenal both had chances to distance themselves over the weekend and blew them.
A win today for Manchester United would put it on 67 points, even with Chelsea, and the two teams play Sunday. United’s final two games are against Cardiff City and Huddersfield Town, who both could be relegated by the time the games are played.
But a win today is proving a conundrum for many Manchester United fans. Victory would all but had the title to Liverpool, a prospect that is sickening for every Manchester United fan on the planet. Liverpool has never won a Premier League title, and just about every fan base in England would love to see it remain that way, despite all the propaganda you see.
So what will happen today?
With the way United has been playing, it is tough to see anything but a City win.
In the DFB Pokal semifinals, expect Bayern Munich to join RB Leipzig in the final, with a win today over Werder Bremen.
Manchester United (+550) vs. Manchester City (-200), draw (+340), 3 p.m. (NBC Sports and Fubo.tv )
THE PICKS:
Manchester City ML (-200)
Manchester City -1 (+125)
Manchester City 2+ goals (-180)
Werder Bremen (+750) vs. Bayern Munich (-300), draw (+425), 2:45 p.m. (ESPNEWS)
THE PICKS:
Bayern Munich ML (-300)
Bayern Munich -1 (-110)
NAC Breda (+600) vs. Feyenoord (-225), draw (+360), 2:45 p.m. (ESPN+)
THE PICKS:
Feyenoord ML (-225)
Feyenoord -1 (+115)