When winning promotion to the Premier League everybody involved in the football club will look forward to hosting one of the “big boys” or “big six”. Sheffield United have already battled it out with treble-winners Manchester City at Bramall Lane, almost earning a point late on in the game.
On Saturday they host a struggling Manchester United team that’s not only struggling to put together results, they’re also struggling to pick out a team due to the high number of injuries plaguing Erik ten Hag’s side.
Historically speaking, the Blades do not do well against the Red Devils. Although, in their last Premier League campaign relegation-bound Sheffield United managed to cause a huge upset at Old Trafford with a 2-1 win.
The Blades should be fearful of Manchester United
Paul Heckingbottom’s men have evidently struggled to play out from defence this term, they almost conceded against Fulham due to misplaced passes. Against West Ham and Newcastle, they got punished because of sloppy play at the back.
A huge concern heading into Saturday evening is that Manchester United leads the Premier League in high turnovers (90) [FBref], with only Chelsea surpassing them in recorded pressed sequences (134 for United compared to Chelsea’s 135) [Soccerment].
The Sheffield United goal has faced 176 shots, marking the second-highest number in the first eight matches of a campaign since the 2003/04 season. The record is held by Hull City, facing 184 shots in the 2016/17 season [Opta].
In contrast, Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes has registered the second-highest number of shots and chances created combined in the league (47) [FBref].
