Sheffield United vs Man City preview, team news, kick-off

Team news, stats and prediction ahead of Sheffield United vs Man City in the Premier League on Saturday; Kick-off 12.30pm.

Team news

Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder has no fresh injury concerns but several selection quandaries ahead of City's visit to Bramall Lane.

Max Lowe is available again after suffering concussion early into his Blades debut against Fulham, meaning Ben Osborn could move back into the left of midfield, while Ethan Ampadu impressed in the narrow defeat to Liverpool and will hope to retain his place in front of the defence ahead of Oliver Norwood.

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Wilder has admitted his frustration at John Lundstram's failure to sign a new contract and must decide his involvement.

John Fleck and Lys Mousset are a month from fitness, while Jack O'Connell is a long-term absentee.

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Manchester City are still missing record goalscorer Sergio Aguero.

Aguero suffered a hamstring injury in last week's draw at West Ham and could be out for up to a month.

Pep Guardiola said: "He is progressing. He is still is not available to train with us but is progressing."

Gabriel Jesus, Nathan Ake and Benjamin Mendy are still sidelined but Kevin De Bruyne returned to the starting XI against Marseille and starred in the Champions League win.

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How to follow

Follow Sheffield United vs Man City in our dedicated live match blog. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly after the final whistle.

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Jones Knows' prediction

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Opposing Manchester City has proven a controversial opinion it seems. Plenty of flak was thrown my way across social media for tipping up West Ham win last weekend. And, although I couldn't quite cup my ear in celebration at the 1-1 draw, my assessment of City remains unchanged. Pep Guardiola's side are underperforming compared to their usual high standards.

This is explained beautifully by their overall negative xG figures this season (6.26 for, 7.02 against) - that is a mid-table return. It is a world away from their +1.57 per game xG figure calculated when winning the league two seasons ago.

The return of the world's best midfielder in Kevin De Bruyne could spark them back into life but with my betting analyst head fully engaged, there is no way I can advocate an away win at 2/7 odds.

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I am happy to put my faith in Chris Wilder's boys to get something. Yes, just one point after six games looks horrendous on paper but the performance data tells me they have deserved more in that period with some key, match-defining decisions, going against them and big chances being squandered.

They remain a devilishly tough team to break down - something that Guardiola found out first hand last season with both games ending in narrow City wins with goals coming in the second half. A low-scoring draw looks the play.

JONES KNOWS PREDICTS: 1-1 (9/1 with Sky Bet)

Opta stats

• Sheffield United are winless in their last six league meetings with Man City (D2 L4), failing to score in any of the last four. Their last victory against them was in the second tier in January 2000 (1-0).
• Manchester City are looking to win four consecutive league games against Sheffield United for the first time since March 1930.
• Sheffield United have never beaten Man City in the Premier League in eight attempts (D3 L5), the most they've faced any side in the competition without a victory. They've failed to score in seven of these eight meetings, the highest percentage of games a side has failed to score against another in the Premier League (88% - minimum eight meetings).
• Manchester City are unbeaten in their last three Premier League games (W1 D2), although they've bagged just one goal in each match. It's their longest run of failing to score more than once in a league game since October 2016 (3) in Pep Guardiola's first season in charge.
• No side has won more English top-flight matches on Halloween (October 31st) than Manchester City (W10 D0 L3) - level with Arsenal.
• Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder has won 99 of his 202 games in charge of the club in all competitions, although he's been stuck on 99 wins for the last 10 matches (D2 L8), since beating Chelsea 3-0 in July.
• Manchester City winger Riyad Mahrez has been directly involved in 99 goals in 203 Premier League appearances (58 goals, 41 assists); his next goal or assist would see him become the 6th African player to reach the century milestone after Didier Drogba, Yakubu, Emmanuel Adebayor, Sadio Mané and Mohamed Salah.

Pitch to Post Preview: Jamie Redknapp on Man Utd v Arsenal; plus Liverpool's CB options, and will Everton bounce back?

Jamie Redknapp joins Peter Smith on this week's show to look ahead to Sunday's showdown between Man Utd and Arsenal and says there are more questions than answers at Old Trafford as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer prepares for his 100th game in charge.

Sky Sports News reporter Vinny O'Connor has the latest on Liverpool's injury problems and discusses the young players who could cover at centre-back.

And Sky Sports statistician Matt Cheetham picks out the numbers which explain why Everton's defeat at Southampton could just be a blip, and makes his bold Pitch for what will happen in the Premier League this weekend.

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