FA Cup: Manchester City vs Sheffield United verdict, predicted score, key stats and suggested bets
- George Dempsey
- 21 April 2023
Manchester City will expect to book their place in the FA Cup final when they play Sheffield United at Wembley on Saturday afternoon.
Man City are already closing in on Premier League leaders Arsenal as well as having reached the Champions League semi-finals on Wednesday in their bid for a Treble.
Date, KO time and TV coverage
FA Cup, Saturday April 22, Kick-off 4:45pm, live on ITV
Predicted score
Suggested bets
Manchester City -2.5 Asian handicap
Over 3.5 goals
Erling Haaland to score a hat-trick
Key stats
For what it's worth, Sheffield United have won all four of their FA Cup meetings with Manchester City.
Pep Guardiola's team have scored three or more goals in six of their last seven matches.
Manchester City have won 21 consecutive matches against EFL sides, averaging 3.7 goals per game.
Sheffield United beat Tottenham 1-0 earlier in the competition, but they have lost their last four FA Cup ties versus Premier League opposition away from Bramall Lane.
Team news
Manchester City will be without Nathan Ake after he suffered a hamstring injury against Bayern Munich, but otherwise have a clean bill of health. Erling Haaland will lead the line for City, while Julian Alvarez may be included to afford Jack Grealish some rest.
Sheffield United will be without Ben Osborn (hamstring), Rhian Brewster (hamstring), Rhys Norrington-Davies (hamstring) and Jack O'Connell (knee) through injury, while Enda Stevens has only just returned to training.
Paul Heckingbottom is hopeful Anel Ahmedhodzic will be available, but the Blades will be without James McAtee and Tommy Doyle, who cannot play against their parent club.
Wes Foderingham has returned from his ban and could replace Adam Davies in the United goal.
Man City vs Sheffield United verdict
Manchester City's 1-1 draw in Munich was enough to secure a comfortable progression to the Champions League semi-finals. City were dominant over the two legs and never looked troubled at the Allianz Arena.
Pep Guardiola's men have had just one day to prepare after taking Thursday off to rest and recover, but their star-studded squad should be able to cope with familiar circumstances.
Sheffield United's 1-0 victory over Bristol City on Tuesday was hard-fought and will have taken something out of the Blades emotionally. United's promotion could be confirmed shortly after kick-off at Wembley depending on the Championship results.
Paul Heckingbottom's men have been in terrific form in the Championship, but playing Manchester City at the home of football is a different proposition.
City's 6-0 hammering of Vincent Kompany's Burnley highlighted just how big the gap is between the second-tier and English football's elite, and a repeat could be on the cards.
Sheffield United can take confidence from their 1-0 win over Tottenham earlier in the season, while their recent stint in the Premier League should give them a good idea of how to approach this game.
The Blades are expected to line up in their usual 3-5-2 formation with George Baldock and Max Lowe likely to spend more time defending than attacking.
Their best bet may be to keep that back five within the width of the 18-yard box, while Sander Berge, Oliver Norwood and John Fleck will need to balance crowding wide areas and limiting Kevin de Bruyne's space in the middle.
It's a thankless task and even if they are successful at taking away space in behind and down the side, Haaland gives Man City an aerial option they haven't had in recent years.
Striking a balance between defence and attack will be extremely challenging. Even if the Blades keep things tight for the first 15 minutes, Oliver McBurnie and Iliman Ndiaye will cut isolated figures by that point.
City's imperious form against some of Europe's elite leaves their opponents with little hope on their big day, with Pep's men scoring 15 goals in total against RB Leipzig, Liverpool and Bayern Munich recently.
Haaland was responsible for seven of those despite missing the game against the Reds. His relentless assault on every goalscoring record known to man will likely continue on Saturday and we think he could score a hat-trick.
