Prediction & odds for the game: Sheffield United (17/2) v Manchester City (2/7)

When: Saturday, 31st October @ 12.30pm K.O

Where: Bramall Lane

Sheffield United will attempt to register their first win of the Premier League season when they host Manchester City at Bramall Lane.

Sheffield United

It would be an understatement to say Sheffield United have made a questionable start to the new campaign, and now, they’re already looking like a team that could easily fall victim to second season syndrome. They have to try and get back to the heart of what they were known for last season and Chris Wilder knows that, but after being stuck in such an early rut, it’s going to be hard for them to drag themselves out of this mess.

After going out of the Carabao Cup to Burnley, Sheffield United suffered two narrow defeats against Aston Villa and Leeds as their tough luck continued. They proceeded to fight Arsenal all the way until the final whistle, only to lose again. A point against Fulham wasn’t good enough in the eyes of many, and against champions Liverpool, they just about came up on the wrong side of a 2-1 result.

Manchester City

Pep Guardiola is desperate to do two things this season: take the Premier League title away from Liverpool and finally claim a European title at the Eithad. It’s going to be difficult for him to accomplish just one of these things after City’s start to the season, with many already wondering how much longer he’s going to be plying his trade in the north. That analysis seems a little much, but if he wants to steady the ship, City need to be winning this game tomorrow.

City did what United couldn’t in the Carabao Cup: beat Burnley. They also beat Arsenal in the league and Porto & Marseille in their Champions League group, but in between that, they had two results that left many fans thinking “here we go again”. They were outfought by Leeds in a 1-1 draw at Elland Road before also failing to beat West Ham at London Stadium in another 1-1 performance.

Conclusion

Sheffield United certainly aren’t afraid to give it a good go regardless of who they’re coming up against, and when you look at how fragile Manchester City have been as of late from a defensive standpoint, it’s not unreasonable to think that they could grab at least a point from the game. Alas, while the Blades are going to give City a bloody nose, we believe Pep’s men will be able to come away with all three points to get their title hopes back on track.

Verdict: Back the away win at odds of 2/7 and the over 2.5 goals scored at odds of 1/2 (All odds are taken from bet365).

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If you want to bet on Sheffield United vs Manchester City then head on over to the betting page. Alternatively, you can check out some of the other available fixtures at the soccer predictions page ahead of what should be an exciting few months of European action.