Bramall Lane will host Saturday's early start in the Premier League with Sheffield United welcoming Manchester City for what is a hugely important game for both teams.
The Blades have only picked up one point from their six league games this season to sit 19th in the table, while City are down in 13th with eight points to show from their opening five matches of 2020-21.
Match preview
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There is no getting away from the fact that it has been a desperately disappointing start to the season for Sheffield United, with just one point from six matches leaving them in 19th position.
The Blades lost their first four league games of the campaign against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Aston Villa, Leeds United and Arsenal before picking up a point at home to Fulham on October 18.
Chris Wilder's side could not build on the draw, though, and suffered a 2-1 defeat at Liverpool last weekend. It is not as if it gets any easier for Sheffield United, though, as their next two Premier League games are at home to City and away to Chelsea before the November international break kicks in.
The 2018-19 Championship runners-up were so impressive in the top flight last season, ultimately finishing ninth, but they were challenging for the top four ahead of the lockdown period.
The memories of last term are drifting away fairly quickly, though, and the team are now staring at the possibility of a long and difficult battle to stay in the top division.
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City, meanwhile, are yet to really ignite their Premier League season and currently sit 13th in the table with eight points to show from their opening five matches.
Pep Guardiola's side have beaten Wolverhampton Wanderers and Arsenal in the league this season, but they lost heavily at home to Leicester City at the end of September, while both Leeds United and West Ham United have taken points off the former champions during the month of October.
The Citizens have made an excellent start to their 2020-21 Champions League campaign, though, beating Porto and Marseille to place themselves in a strong position to make the knockout stage of the competition.
City are entering a vital period in the league, though, as they will host the champions Liverpool next weekend before traveling to Jose Mourinho's Tottenham Hotspur immediately after the international break.
There remain question marks surrounding the future of Guardiola, but the Spaniard will be solely focused on securing all three points against the struggling Blades on Saturday afternoon.
Sheffield United Premier League form: LLLLDL
Sheffield United form (all competitions): LLLLDL
Manchester City Premier League form: WLDWD
Manchester City form (all competitions): WDWWDW
Team News
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Sheffield United will again be without the services of Lys Mousset, Jack O'Connell, John Fleck and Simon Moore for this weekend's contest at Bramall Lane.
Wilder has revealed that John Lundstram has turned down the chance to sign a new contract with the club, meanwhile, and it would not be a surprise to see the midfielder pulled out of the XI for this game.
There are not expected to be many changes from the side that started against Liverpool, though, with Rhian Brewster likely to again be joined by Oli McBurnie in the final third of the field.
As for City, Gabriel Jesus, Benjamin Mendy, Fernandinho and Sergio Aguero are all unavailable for selection, but Nathan Ake should shake off a groin complaint to put himself in contention.
Guardiola is expected to make changes from the side that started against Marseille, with Riyad Mahrez and Joao Cancelo both likely to feature in the starting XI.
Ferran Torres impressed in the Champions League clash last time out, but Raheem Sterling could get the nod through the middle for this game, with Mahrez and Phil Foden operating in the wide positions. Rodri and Ilkay Gundogan, meanwhile, should continue alongside Kevin De Bruyne in midfield.
Sheffield United possible starting lineup:
Ramsdale; Basham, Egan, Stevens; Baldock, Norwood, Ampadu, Berge, Osborn; Brewster, McBurnie
Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Ederson; Walker, Dias, Laporte, Cancelo; Gundogan, Rodri, De Bruyne; Foden, Sterling, Mahrez
We say: Sheffield United 0-2 Manchester City
Sheffield United put in a much improved performance against Liverpool last time out, and they are in for another tough examination this weekend. City are missing some key players, especially in the final third of the field, but we expect the visitors to claim all three points at Bramall Lane.
Top betting tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting an away win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Away Win:dataVideo prediction
Watch the Sports Mole Football Shorts prediction for this game below:
Matt Law
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Manchester City win with a probability of 71.69%. A draw had a probability of 18.4% and a win for Sheffield United had a probability of 9.92%.
The most likely scoreline for a Manchester City win was 0-2 with a probability of 14.31%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (13.57%) and 0-3 (10.06%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (8.61%), while for a Sheffield United win it was 1-0 (4.08%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with a 13.6% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Manchester City would win this match.
