Manchester City continue their quest for silverware on Saturday evening when they take on Championship high-flyers Sheffield United in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley, where they are expected to rack up a comfortable win.
Key stats
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.
Man 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.
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 the day off to rest and recover on Thursday, but their star-studded squad should be able to cope with familiar circumstances.
Sheffield United’s 1-0 victory over Bristol City 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.
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 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, whilst 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 with George Balock 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, whilst 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 and taking away space in behind and down the side, Erling 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 Illiman 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 against RB Leipzig, Liverpool and Bayern Munich recently.
Haaland was responsible for seven of those goals despite missing the game against Liverpool.
His relentless assault on every goal-scoring record known to man will likely continue on Saturday.
Suggested bets
Manchester City -2.5 Asian handicap
Over 3.5 goals
Erling Haaland to score a hat-trick
Manchester City 5-0 Sheffield United
