Pep Guardiola’s men face Sheffield United in the FA cup after securing their slot in the Champions League after defeating Bayern Munich 4-1 on aggregate. How will the Championship team fare against the Premier League giant? Read on to hear our betting tips and predictions.
Manchester City vs Sheffield United Stats & Facts
- Sheffield United have won all four FA Cup matches against Manchester City, most recently a 2-1 victory in the fourth round of the 2007-08 season.
- Since suffering a 1-0 defeat to Wigan in the FA Cup in February 2018, Manchester City have won their last 21 domestic cup matches against lower division opponents. During this streak, they have scored 78 goals while allowing only 11 in return.
- Since Sunderland’s 1-0 victory over Norwich at Hillsborough in the 1991-92 season, top-flight clubs have won the past 13 FA Cup semi-finals against lower-division opponents.
- Manchester City is in the FA Cup semi-finals for the sixth time in the past seven seasons, and the fifth time in a row.
However, they have lost four of their last five matches and could become the first team in FA Cup history to lose four consecutive semi-finals. - Since 1936, Sheffield United has not advanced to the FA Cup final. In that period, the Blades have lost five semi-finals, most recently to Hull City 5-3 in 2013-14.
Manchester City vs Sheffield United Squadlists
Here are the players available to Pep Guardiola and Blades manager Paul Heckingbottom in this FA cup encounter at Wembley Stadium.
Manchester City
Goalkeepers: Zack Steffen, Stefan Ortega Moreno, Ederson, Scott Carson
Defenders: Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, John Stones, Nathan Ake,
Joao Cancelo, Aymeric Laporte, Sergio Gomez, Manuel Akanji,
Rico Lewis, Joshua Wilson-Esbrand
Midfielders: Kalvin Phillips, Ilkay Gundogan, Jack Grealish, Rodrigo, Kevin
De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Maximo Perrone, Phil Foden, Cole Palmer
Strikers: Erling Haaland, Julian Alvarez, Riyad Mahrez
Injuries/out: Benjamin Mendy is still unfit for this FA Cup encounter after missing the Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich.
Sheffield United
Goalkeepers: Wes Foderingham, Adam Davies
Defenders: Anel Ahmedhodzic, John Egan, Jack O’Connell, Ciaran Clark, Chris Basham, Max Lowe, Rhys Norrington-Davies, Enda Stevens, Jack Robinson, George Baldock, Jayden Bogle, Joe Starbuck
Midfielders: Sander Berge, James McAtee, Tommy Doyle, Oliver Norwood, John Fleck, Ismaila Coulibaly, Ben Osborn
Strikers: Iliman Ndiaye, Rhian Brewster, Oliver McBurnie, Daniel Jebbison, Billy Sharp, William Osula
Injuries/out: Enda Stevens, Jack O’Connell, and Rhian Brewster are all injured and unfit to play in this FA Cup semi-final.
Manchester City vs Sheffield United Recent Form
Here is the recent form of both clubs in all competitions as they’re set to face one another this Saturday.
Manchester City Recent Form(DWWWW):
- 1-1 vs Bayern Munich – Champions League
- 3-1 vs Leicester City – Premier League
- 3-0 vs Bayern Munich – Champions League
- 4-1 vs Southampton – Premier League
- 4-1 vs Liverpool – Premier League
The Premier League side has been in good form winning four out of five matches and cruising to a 4-1 win against Bayern Munich and seemingly saving their batteries in a 1-1 draw as they’d go through to the semi-finals of the Champions League anyhow. Suffice to say their form is very strong and they’ve been a feared opponent all season.
Sheffield United Recent Form():
- 1-0 vs Bristol City – Championship
- 4-1 vs Cardiff City – Championship
- 0-2 vs Burnley – Championship
- 1-0 vs Wigan Athletic – Championship
- 1-0 vs Norwich City – Championship
Although Sheffield utd lost to top-of-the-league Burnley, they look to be in okay shape. They’re in good form to at least give Manchester City a game but I doubt they’ll bet them as the Manchester club has been on a roll all season.
BTTS Market
Considering that Manchester City has had an impregnable defense all season and that Sheffield United is a significantly weaker team, I count it very unlikely that both teams will score in this match as a Manchester domination of play is expected.
BTTS Verdict: No
Over/Under Verdict
Considering the power imbalance between these two teams, I would definitely put over 2.5 on the scorecard as Manchester City tends to play around with Championship teams asif they were amateurs. A good example of this is their 6-0 win against Burnley not too long ago. Over 2.5 being the very safe option, I would even consider over 3.5 and over 4.5 if you’re feeling lucky
Over/Under Verdict: Over 3.5 the ideal
