Manchester City vs Sheffield United
Despite being points away from the top of the Premier League table, Manchester City can hold on to the second spot if they can continue their roll against Sheffield United next Monday.
Liverpool are still leading the pack, of course, and they are yet to be beaten this season. They recently won in their fixture against Leicester City by simply dominating them with a 4-0 tally.
Manchester City are slowly getting back to their dangerous form after recovering from their tough loss against Manchester United. Some of their key wins came in high-scoring fashion as shown in their matches against Arsenal and Leicester City.
On the other hand, Sheffield United continue to put the league on notice by rising to the sixth spot. The Blades can improve their standing if they can get their first-ever victory against the Sky Blues.
As of this writing, it looks like that there will be new champions at the end of the season. Nonetheless, we can expect these two teams duke it out as if a title is on the line.
SBOBET offers you a preview of next week’s match.
Talking points
Another Man City icon leaving?
The Sky Blues have been rediscovering their championship form given their torrid stretch lately, and that’s big if they would want to keep their slim title hopes alive.
“It was like the old City yeah. It was good to give a good performance to our fans. They deserve it because it hasn’t been a good first half of the season for us,” said Bernardo Silva after their game against the Foxes.
City have recovered from a disappointing Manchester Derby by unloading six total goals and conceding only one to the likes of Arsenal and Leicester City.
They have a vaunted combination with the likes of Gabriel Jesus, Raheem Sterling, and Riyad Mahrez for their attack. However, team manager Pep Guardiola will have the task of preparing possibly for a life without Sergio Aguero and David Silva.
In a recent report by the Daily Mail, Guardiola is lamenting at the possibility of Aguero possibly leaving the club months from now. The Argentinian striker has already scored 13 goals plus some Premier League 2019 highlights for City so far this season.
‘Sergio is irreplaceable. We have another incredible striker in Gabriel Jesus and maybe another one will come when Sergio leaves but he is irreplaceable,” Guardiola emphasized.
He is undoubtedly one of the icons for the club, having arrived from Atletico Madrid for £38m in 2011. Aguero produced one of the iconic moments in recent memory when he scored the title-winning goal against QPR back in the 2012 season.
David Silva, on the other hand, is reportedly linked for a transfer to David Beckham’s new MLS team Inter Miami after the 2019/20 campaign.
Their defence has already taken a hit early this season when former captain Vincent Kompany left the club. Fernandinho, Benjamin Mendy, and Nicolas Otamendi have tried their luck to fill in for him, but they have yet to fulfill their potential.
Either way, they still have a formidable roster capable of winning the title. It’s just too bad that the chances of them repeating happen to be very low this season.
Sheffield United taking care of business
The Blades have been slicing their way through competition since they’ve endured a tough loss against Newcastle three weeks ago. Sheffield United bounced back by defeating the likes of Norwich City, Aston Villa, and Brighton while drawing level against Watford.
In those matches, several players took turns in providing goals for team boss Chris Wilder. Oliver Norwood and George Baldock continue to lead their attack through their playmaking while Oli McBurnie and John Fleck provided some exciting moments as well.
John Egan continues to be a reliable centre-back for Sheffield United. In fact, he has been garnering interest from several teams lately with his fine play.
Carlo Ancelotti’s Everton is one of the teams in the hunt for the Irish defender since they are in dire need of defencive reinforcements. Whether he will be transferred or not remains to be seen.
Nevertheless, Chris Wilder’s side still impresses the fans in the Premier League and facing City will give them a gauge on how far they’ve come.
History
Manchester City and Sheffield United have faced off in only six matches so far. City have been undefeated in those contests by winning three and drawing three.
Neither team scored more than once in all of their encounters.
Betting tip
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Manchester City vs Sheffield United | Manchester City Asian Handicap -2.00 @ 1.92 |
| December 30, 2:00 (GMT+8) |
It’s a bit surprising as to why Manchester City are the overwhelming favourites in our Premier League 2019 odds. The Sky Blues are at 1.19 and Sheffield United are at 11.00 while a draw is at 7.20 in the 1×2 market.
The Blades are still chasing for that elusive win against the Sky Blues and that is achievable since they have come close in several occasions.
However, I would have to give City the advantage here since they’re playing at home and their recent run has been quite dominant. It would be hard to envision Sheffield United posing problems against an in-form City attack.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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 = €20 (Highly confident) |
 = €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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