Premier League champions Manchester City travel to Bramall Lane to face newly-promoted Sheffield United on Sunday afternoon.
Pep Guardiola’s side have started the season in typically ominous fashion, claiming back-to-back league victories without conceding a goal.
Flying high 🙌 pic.twitter.com/hOBEUovsdH— Manchester City (@ManCity) August 22, 2023
Flying high 🙌 pic.twitter.com/hOBEUovsdH
On the flip side, Sheffield United have suffered two straight defeats, conceding three goals while scoring just once in reply.
The Blades started their campaign with a 1-0 defeat to Crystal Palace, who racked up 24 shots while enjoying 68% possession at Bramall Lane on the opening weekend.
Sheff Utd then suffered a 2-1 loss against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground, conceding in the 89th minute to a smart Chris Wood header.
Paul Heckingbottom’s men won 28 of their 46 Championship matches last term, picking up a whopping 91 points en route to automatic promotion.
However, if the early stages of the new season are anything to go by, the Blades will struggle to compete in the top flight this time around.
As for Manchester City, they sit second in the table – behind Brighton & Hove Albion on goal difference – having made a strong start to the campaign.
After defeating Burnley 3-0 at the Turf Moor on the opening weekend – thanks largely to an Erling Haaland brace – City defeated Sevilla on penalties in the UEFA Super Cup.
Last weekend, Guardiola’s men racked up 59% possession and 14 shots as they beat Newcastle United 1-0, with Julian Alavarez scoring a screamer.
Thanks to a strong end to the previous campaign, Man City have now lost just one of their last 19 Premier League encounters.
Head-to-head: Manchester City claimed a 3-0 victory over Sheffield United in the FA Cup last season, meaning they have won each of their last five meetings with the Blades.
Not only have Sheff Utd managed to win just one of their last eight matches against City, but they have also failed to score on seven occasions.
Team news: Sheffield United’s lengthy injury list contains John Fleck, Rhian Brewster, Ismaila Coulibaly, Rhys Norrington-Davies, Jayden Bogle, Anis Ben Slimane and Daniel Jebbison.
Meanwhile, Man City will be without the injured duo of Kevin De Bruyne and John Stones this weekend. On a brighter note, Bernardo Silva is back in action following illness.
Sheffield United will be determined to cause an upset on Sunday, but Guardiola’s men are expected to flex their muscles at Bramall Lane.
Forebet predicts that Manchester City will score over 1.5 goals and keep a clean sheet on their way to blunting the Blades.