Opposition report: Manchester City (H)

Pre-match analysis, predictions, data and danger men ahead of GW3.

David Taylor

Last week’s 2-1 loss to Nottingham ‘Notts’ Forest was a case of strength in depth. After a nightmare start and uninspiring first half, United grew into the game admirably, and with Gustavo Hamer’s dream debut goal (that had Football Twitter all-a-flutter), it looked like there was only one team looking to grab the three points. Unfortunately, our recruitment policy came back to bite us when legs tired and we turned to our academy prospects. This is by no means a reflection on Andre Brooks and Antwoine Hackford, who both looked lively during their cameos, but the contrast in team strength was obvious when Forest were able to bring on Premier League stalwart Chris Wood to barrel his way to a sucker-punch headed winner.

Very much like true love, the course of a Sheffield United transfer window never did run smooth. From the ashes of the Ndiaye/Berge Bladesageddon came a renewed optimism with the signing of Hamer, who immediately showed us why he could be an upgrade in midfield with that stonker of a finish from outside the box.

It feels like a long time since we’ve had a genuine threat from that distance. Not only is it exciting to witness, but Hamer’s presence around the edge of the box won’t go unnoticed by opposition managers, who will keep a close eye on his movement. This should open up space in the box and on the wings for more of an attacking threat in those areas. As far as transfers go, Hamer has the potential to be one of United’s most significant for decades.

While our issues at the top end of the pitch are well documented (and should be alleviated by the return of Oli McBurnie and eventual signing of Cameron Archer), there are some concerning signs at the back that Paul Heckingbottom should look to snuff out. As good as Chris Wood might be (read: fine), he shouldn’t have been able to sneak between John Egan and Anel Ahmedhodžić for Forest’s winner. This looks to be more of a pattern than a mistake, with similar gaps seen for the first goal of the night and for Crystal Palace’s winner on the opening day.

This has hopefully been focussed on this week, as otherwise, we’ll need to rely on Erling Haaland’s head falling off in the pre-match warm-up. I don’t think it’s controversial to say that Haaland is a touch better than Wood; we’ll need all the stellar defending the central defensive trio managed against the Norwegian god of goals in last season’s FA Cup semi-final.

Speaking of Manchester City, the Champions* of England (115 charges pending) are a relentless juggernaut of intricately calculated transitions from defence to attack. It seems a shame that a collection of such beautifully creative players is used in this way, but they’re still a good watch and will obviously be looking to bolster their goal difference at Bramall Lane.

As Pep Guardiola is recovering from back surgery (must be hard carrying all those charges, to be fair), the H&M catalogue man will be watching the game from home. While his players could probably win with Kevin Blackwell in charge, this still opens up an opportunity for United to disrupt the City machine, be it through a pacy counter-attack or a Jack Robinson sliding spectacular. McBurnie has been training hard this week, and I think he’ll be called upon to lead the line with his hold-up play and phenomenally useful knack for winning pretty much every defensive header he’s attempted in his career. A back five will help keep things tight against City’s quick passing, and be solid when trying to react to the space in behind City’s midfield.

Lowe’s injury means it’s probably between Yasser Larouci and Ben Osborn for the left-back berth – I think Heckingbottom will look to Osborn while Larouci continues to get up to speed. We might see Larouci come on later in the game, with Osborn moving more centrally to retain some legs in the centre of the pitch if the impressive Vinícius Souza starts to understandably flag.

Predicted Sheffield United XI:

Riley Roberts on Manchester City

Where to start when analysing Manchester City? The closest team to perfection in world football and the reigning treble winners. Realistically, we’re looking at the hardest fixture on the calendar, never what you want to see following two defeats to start the season compared to their two victories.

It doesn’t take a genius to explain how Manchester City try to play. Their identity under Guardiola is built on positional play, possession of the ball and ultimately controlling games, and it’s a philosophy which he has implemented exceptionally in his tenure as City’s gaffer.

Statistically last season, City ranked first in far too many areas to list here. A few categories of note would be goals, goals conceded, expected goals, possession and conversation rate. Basically, they’re a side that scores bucket loads, doesn’t concede many, has all of the ball, creates loads of chances and then converts a good share of said chances. So, absolutely nothing to fear then....

Luckily for us, Kevin De Bruyne (16 assists, most in the PL last season) will miss the encounter, but obviously, even his absence doesn’t instantly make them beatable. There are, however, at least a few things we can do that don’t include injuring a few more of their key men to improve our chances at getting a result. One of the most common tactical trends used when facing a high-possession, narrow, attacking team is to compact the space in the middle of the park, giving them as little room to play in as possible and forcing the ball into wide areas where you can commit 2v1 to win the ball back. This is something I can almost guarantee we will employ – usually, this would also be aided by the fact we play with a back three or five, as having three CBs tends to give you numerical superiority in the box when a cross comes in. However, all three goals we have conceded so far this season have come from crosses, so it almost feels as if we’d be foolish to force them into crossing, especially with the penalty box presence of Erling Haaland, (7 headed goals in 2022/23, only behind Harry Kane on 10). 

Not only are Manchester City incredible in possession, but they are also probably the hardest team to score against in the league. We’ll all have to hope that Oli McBurnie is back fit in time to face the champions: his aerial ability will be crucial when it comes to counter-attacking, as we’ll likely hit a high volume of long balls up to whoever starts up front and he is the striker best-equipped to deal with them by some distance.

Another player who could be crucial is the already promising Bénie Traoré, as those two could form a typical big man/ little man partnership with McBurnie’s towering ability in the air and Traoré’s speed and agility.

Overall, it’s obvious that we’re up against it. No one expects us to get a result against the best team in world football, but it must be said that we have often worked well in the past when we’ve been unfancied. It’s also easy to forget that it was only a couple of months ago when we were doing a fantastic job of holding Manchester City in the first half of an FA Cup semi-final before giving away a silly penalty, and even then, limited ‘The Citizens’ to just four shots on target in 90 mins. Maybe Hecky has the recipe to beat them and is just waiting to unleash it tomorrow – we’ll have to hope so.

Speaking on the Premier League and the City challenge: “It’s a tough game against the best team at the minute. I know everyone’s looking forward to it. It’s a really big occasion and a chance to get a shock result.

“We wanted to be on this stage. Every game is a huge game. When it’s going to be a full house every time at Bramall Lane, that just adds to the occasion. No matter who we’re playing, it’s exciting.”

On team news: “Lowey won’t be fit, but everyone else is. George [Baldock] is back training, and Oli Mc is back training. Good news.

“Lowey is out – there’s no point hiding that. How long we don't know yet, it depends on the route we go down, whether surgery or not. We'll have to wait and see.”

On Yasser Larouci: “He's got to settle. He's getting more comfortable with what we are asking from him. If we’re going to compete with Man City and these clubs week after week, we have to be fearless and be at our best. That may cost us, but we want to keep improving. Don't worry about mistakes – it will be a big part of what we are wanting you to do.”

On Cameron Archer’s transfer: “The deadline was today. It's out of my hands. Cameron would have loved to have got it over the line and be involved on Sunday.”

David Taylor

I’m as big a Blade as Billy Sharp, Tony Currie and Kevin ‘Biggest Blade’ McCabe combined, but even I have to admit that we’re up against it today. Having said that, we looked every inch the Premier League team in last season’s FA Cup tie, and should’ve been ahead early on through Ndiaye. If we can stay tight and compact (which I feel confident about with Souza), we could limit City’s cadre of stars for large portions of the game, and with the pace of Traoré, the shooting threat of Hamer and the aerial strength of McBurnie, there’s no reason we can’t give them a few scares.

It’s a shame that Archer’s transfer hasn’t gone through soon enough for him to make an appearance, as a little more pace and clinical finishing up front would be welcome against City. While I don’t see a drubbing, I think this match has come a few weeks too early for our attacking output. They won’t have it all their own way, but a win for the current Champions* seems to be on the cards.

SHEFFIELD UNITED 0-2 MANCHESTER CITY

(Grealish, 37; Haaland 71)