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It’s top v bottom on Saturday afternoon as Premier League leaders City welcome the league’s basement club Sheffield United to the Etihad Stadium. The Blues can solidify their position at the top of the table with victory, while United could climb off the bottom with a win and if West Brom lose at home to Fulham in a bottom of the table six-pointer.
Form
It took 18 matches. But Sheffield United finally got their first win of the season when they beat Newcastle 1-0 at Bramhall Lane on 12th January. They followed that up by losing at home to Spurs (3-1) five days later, however the Blades got their first away win of the season at Old Trafford on Wednesday, a result that kept City at the top of the table.
United were a bit of a surprise package last season, but this year, they have been anything but. The Blades lost an incredible 15 of their first 17 games in the league, which included an 8 match losing streak from October to December.
They have the worst away record in the league, won 1, drawn 1, lost 8 and have conceded 18 goals, an average of 2 per game, scoring just six on their travels – only Burnley with 5 have scored less on their journeys this season.
Danger Men
United have scored just 12 Premier League goals this season, and David McGoldrick has got 5 of them, his only other goal coming against Burnley in the League Cup in September. Billy Sharp has 3, including the winning penalty against Newcastle.
On the assists, John Fleck leads the way with 3 from 16 games, completing 481 of his 574 passes, giving him a pass accuracy of 84%. McGoldrick and John Lundstram have two assists each, with the latter having a better pass accuracy than the former. Lundstram has completed 529 of his 626 passes, an accuracy of 85%, while McGoldrick as 73%, making 378 of his attempted 515 passes.
Who’s The Boss?
The Blades have bucked the trend of sacking managers when the team is struggling and stuck with Chris Wilder. The Sheffield United fan has been in charge at Bramhall Lane since 2016.
Last Time Out
City beat the Blades 1-0 at Bramhall Lane in October, and also beat them 2-0 at the Etihad Stadium in December 2019.