Manchester City will be looking to bounce back from a shocking 2-3 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers when they welcome Sheffield United to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
With City playing with 10 men after Ederson had been sent off, it always looked like trouble but after taking a two-goal cushion, Pep Guardiola’s side ended up losing the game. A return to play in front of their home fans will be a morale booster in their quest to get back on track.
Sheffield United picked up a point against Watford after three consecutive wins in the Premier League. The Blades will fancy their chances against a Manchester City side who are short of confidence at the moment.
A win for Chris Wilder’s side will take them to fifth after the results of Saturday’s fixtures pushed them to eight, while a City lose could likely be the end of their title chase.
WHEN AND WHERE?
Venue: Etihad Stadium
Date: Sunday, December 29
Time: 6:00 PM
Man City have never lost a Premier League match against Sheffield United (W3 D3), with this the first such meeting since a 1-0 win at Bramall Lane in December 2006.
Sheffield United have failed to score in their last seven away league visits to Manchester City, with five of the last six finishing 0-0.
Manchester City are unbeaten in their last 37 Premier League home games against promoted sides (W33 D4) since a 0-2 loss against Reading in February 2007. Only Chelsea (43 games between 2001-2015) and Man Utd (40 games between 2002-2015) have had longer such runs in the competition.
Sheffield United have lost 15 of their last 16 away league games against reigning top-flight champions, with their sole win in that time coming at Arsenal in August 1971.
Since the turn of the century, Manchester City have only lost their final league game of a calendar twice (W8 D9 L2) – going down 1-4 against Charlton in 2000 and 0-1 at Liverpool in 2016.
TEAM NEWS
Ederson will be unavailable as he serves suspension for his red card taken at the Molineux. Gabriel Jesus, David Silva and John Stones will be assessed before the game while Aymeric Laporte and Leroy Sane continue their recovery.
For Wilder, assessing a few who picked up knocks against Watford could be vital while Lys Mousset could return to the starting eleven.
POSSIBLE LINEUPS
Man City: Bravo; Cancelo, Otamendi, Fernandinho, Zinchenko; De Bruyne, Gundogan, Bernardo; Mahrez, Aguero, Sterling
Sheffield United: Henderson; Basham, Egan, O’Connell; Baldock, Lundstram, Norwood, Fleck, Stevens; McBurnie, Mousset
PREDICTION
Manchester City 3-1 Sheffield United
