Sheffield United kick off a Halloween Premier League triple header as they welcome Manchester City to Bramall Lane.
Victory could lift Chris Wilder’s Blades out of the relegation zone for at least a few hours whilst Man City can climb as high as sixth with a win, if Wolves draw with Crystal Palace on Friday evening.
Team News
Max Lowe could feature for Sheffield Utd after recovering from a concussion suffered in their last home match, drawing 1-1 against Fulham nearly a fortnight ago.
John Fleck (back), Lys Mousset (toe) and Jack O’Connell (knee) are all still absent from Chris Wilder’s selection options.
Man City could welcome Nathan Ake from a groin injury which has kept the Dutch defender out of their last three matches.
Sergio Aguero (knee) joins Fernandinho (leg), Benjamin Mendy (unspecified) and Gabriel Jesus (quad) on sidelines.
Stat Attack
- Sheffield Utd are winless in eight previous Premier League meetings against Manchester City (D3, L5).
- City are unbeaten in four previous Premier League visits to Bramall Lane (W3, D1), with all three wins coming by 1-0 results.
- Neither team are yet to score a penalty after eight previous Premier League meetings, with City missing their only penalty whereas the Blades are yet to receive a spot-kick against the Citizens.
- Kevin De Bruyne is one of four Man City to have produced a club high five shots on target this season alongside; Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling.
- Sheffield United have produced the second lowest number of shots on target so far this season, producing 17 shots on goal with only Newcastle (14) producing less.
Prediction
Sheffield Utd can come into this match with confidence after a positive attacking performance against Liverpool last weekend, although their poor man-marking ultimately cost them a point despite showing promise when pushing forward with their wing-backs.
Man City however have shown contrasting performances domestically and in Europe in recent weeks as evidenced by a sloppy first-half display at West Ham last Saturday before a more confident performance after the break which they clearly took into their midweek win at Marseille.
It is worth noting though that Marseille were shambolic defensively with City able to play comfortable fast flowing high tempo football, which is when they’re at their absolute best but I definitely expect a tougher match here with the Blades nicking a point if are lucky.
Prediction: Sheffield United 1-2 Manchester City
Result: Sheffield United 0-1 Manchester City