Sheffield United vs Manchester City; Premier League
Sheffield United vs Manchester City. Premier League.
Bramall LaneAttendance31,285.
Sheffield United vs Manchester City preview
Watch match highlights shortly after full-time on skysports.com and the Sky Sports app
Monday 20 January 2020 18:15, UK
Team news, key stats and prediction ahead of Sheffield United vs Manchester City in the Premier League on Tuesday (kick-off 7.30pm).
Team news
Sheffield United will check on the fitness of David McGoldrick ahead of their home game against reigning Premier League champions Manchester City.
The striker missed the draw at Arsenal with a foot injury and a decision about his involvement will be made on Monday.
Mo Besic is pushing for a starting place after impressing as a substitute in recent matches. It would be the on-loan Everton midfielder's full Premier League debut for the Blades.
Manchester City will give fitness tests to John Stones and Benjamin Mendy. Centre-back Stones suffered a leg injury in the latter stages of Saturday's draw with Crystal Palace and left-back Mendy has been experiencing muscular fatigue.
Fellow defender Aymeric Laporte (knee) is closing in on a return but this game is likely to come too soon. Winger Leroy Sane (knee) is the other major absentee but he too could return in the coming weeks.
How to follow
Follow the action with our dedicated live blog. Highlights of the game will be published shortly after full-time on the Sky Sports website and app plus the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel.
Opta stats
- Sheffield United have faced Man City more often without victory in the Premier League than they have versus any other side (7 - D3 L4).
- Man City are looking to win three consecutive away league games against Sheffield United for the first time since a run of four between 1905 and 1908.
- Manchester City have won each of their last five Premier League games in Yorkshire, as many as they had in their previous 20 in the county in the top-flight (W5 D6 L9).
- Man City lost their last evening kick-off in the Premier League, 2-3 against Wolves. They've not lost consecutive games kicking off at 7pm or later in the competition since April 2007.
- Sheffield United have won just one of their last 15 league games against reigning top-flight champions (D3 L11), losing their last five in a row without scoring. Their only victory in that run was at home to Leeds in April 1993 (2-1).
- Manchester City have kept just two clean sheets in their last 13 Premier League games, with one of those against Sheffield United at the Etihad.
- Three of Sheffield United's six Premier League defeats this season have come against teams starting the day in the top-three of the division, losing all three without scoring.
- Manchester City have scored 33 away Premier League goals in 11 games on the road this season at an average of three per game - in English top-flight history, only one team have averaged more goals per game away from home in a season, with Preston North End scoring 35 in 11 games in 1888-89 (3.2 on average).
- Sheffield United midfielder John Fleck has scored five league goals this season - his most in a single season in English football. His five goals this campaign are more than he managed in 86 appearances across 2017-18 and 2018-19 for the Blades (four).
- Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero has scored five goals in two Premier League appearances in January - one more than he managed in 11 appearances this season across September, October, November and December (four goals).
Charlie Nicholas' prediction
Sheffield United have been fabulous and have been tremendously successful in their first season. I thought that when Wolves came up, they were the best team to be introduced to the Premier League in some time. Sheffield United are not as good in terms of the style but they are not far away from it.
Manchester City are still in second, but I felt as though they were going to kick on with the few wins they registered. Pep Guardiola was angry and seemed to have sussed the issue out. I mentioned when they beat Man Utd in the Carabao Cup that Raheem Sterling needed to start scoring again and up his game to a degree. Everybody has blips in their form, but it seems to be Riyad Mahrez who is carrying City currently. Kevin De Bruyne is still different class and Sergio Aguero continues to score goals.
It is time to get Aymeric Laporte back in. As much as I admire Fernandinho, he is not a centre-back - he never has been and never will be. If he plays, he plays the holding role. Rodri is not a centre-back either but he is more natural to play that role. Sheffield United will squeeze but the quality of Manchester City should get them through this.
CHARLIE PREDICTS: 1-3 (10/1 with Sky Bet)
Super 6: Blades to deepen City wound?
A mere 0.4 per cent of Super 6 players predicted a 2-2 draw between Manchester City and Crystal Palace, while 5.6 per cent are predicting a 1-1 draw at Bramall Lane. What score will take your fancy, with £250k up for grabs. Play for free.
