Sheffield United vs Man City preview, predictions & possible XIs
Manchester City‘s quest to secure a top-four finish takes them to Bramall Lane to face an impressive Sheffield United.
Pep Guardiola‘s side are 14 points clear of fifth-placed Manchester United but will not want to rest on their laurels, especially after dropping points against Crystal Palace at the weekend.
It certainly won’t be an easy game against seventh-placed Sheffield United who have been one of the highlights of the Premier League season upon their return to England’s top flight.
The Blades have already beaten Arsenal and held Manchester United at home this season and will be looking to add another big scalp to their collection.
Read on for our Sheffield United vs Man City preview, predictions, team news and TV coverage information.
When is Sheff Utd vs Man City and where can I watch live?
Competition: Premier League
Venue: Bramall Lane
Date: Tuesday, 21 January 2020
Kick-off: 7:30 PM (UK time)
TV coverage (UK): BT Sport 2
Last five meetings: Sheff Utd vs Man City
29 December 2019: Man City 2-0 Sheff Utd (Premier League)
27 January 2008: Sheff Utd 2-1 Man City (FA Cup)
26 December 2006: Sheff Utd 0-1 Man City (Premier League)
14 October 2006: Man City 0-0 Sheff Utd (Premier League)
01 January 2002: Sheff Utd 1-3 Man City (First Division)
Aggregate Score: Sheff Utd (LWLDL) 3-7 Man City (WLWDW)
Ones to watch
Sheffield Utd: Oliver Norwood
Sheffield United will be in for a tough game this week, understandably, but that doesn’t mean they won’t have their chances. Man City have shown their frailty at the back, which Sheffield United’s strikers can exploit, but in order to do that they will need someone like Oliver Norwood to be on the ball.
The midfielder is Sheffield United’s key creator in the Premier League this season, providing goalscoring opportunities from the centre of the pitch and if he is given time, Man City‘s defence can be probed.
Key stat: Oliver Norwood (34) has created more chances for Sheffield United than any other player in the Premier League this season but is yet to record an assist.
Man City: Sergio Aguero
Sergio Aguero is back in devastating goalscoring form and will be looking to continue that at Bramall Lane.
Since returning to the starting XI following an injury, the Argentinian has scored six goals in three games including a hat-trick against Aston Villa – his 12th Premier League triple in total.
Aguero only managed to score two against Palace at the weekend, which wasn’t enough to secure all three points, but he was the only Man City player who took their shooting boots to the Etihad.
Key stat: Only Jamie Vardy (17) has scored more Premier League goals than Sergio Aguero (15) this season.
Team news
Sheffield Utd
David McGoldrick is the only doubt for Sheffield United going into this game after he missed the draw with Arsenal at the weekend with a foot problem.
In his absence, Lys Mousset and Oli McBurnie started up front and that could also be the strike partnership against Man City. However, Chris Wilder has often opted to tweak his forward options and may look to freshen things up with an FA Cup trip to Millwall also on the horizon.
Predicted XI: Henderson; Basham, Egan, O’Connell; Baldock, Lundstram, Norwood, Fleck, Stevens; Mousset, McBurnie.
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Man City
Leroy Sane and Aymeric Laporte remain the only guaranteed absentees for Man City but both John Stones and Benjamin Mendy are doubts and face late fitness tests. If the duo are ruled out, it will leave City short of options in defence yet again.
Guardiola is unlikely to rotate too much with their FA Cup fourth round tie against Fulham looking the better opportunity for rest. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be changes with Riyad Mahrez pushing for a start, which could possible come at the expense of Bernardo Silva.
Predicted XI: Ederson; Cancelo, Stones, Fernandinho, Mendy; De Bruyne, Rodri, Gundogan; Sterling, Aguero, Mahrez.
Squawka prediction
As previously mentioned, Sheffield United’s home record against the ‘Big Six’ clubs has been impressive this season with only Liverpool escaping with a slender 1-0 win.
The Blades are also unbeaten in three games at Bramall Lane, winning two and drawing once. This will give them confidence going into Tuesday’s game against a Man City side that could still be affected by losing further ground on top spot.
However, Man City will be desperate to get back to winning ways and should be suitably motivated after Leicester dropped points to Burnley.
Scoreline prediction: Sheffield Utd 1-2 Man City
Check out more of Squawka’s Premier League predictions here.
