MANCHESTER CITY will look to keep up their 100% start to the new Premier League season by banking another three points against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Sunday afternoon.
Following last season's historic treble, Pep Guardiola and his star-studded side are now in pursuit of what would be record-breaking fourth top-flight title on the trot.
The Sky Blues began their title defence by breezing past Burnley before grinding out a hard-fought 1-0 win over Newcastle United at the Etihad last Saturday night.
Next up for City is another away day to one of the league's new boys as they come up against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Sunday.
The Blades marked their return to the big time with a 1-0 defeat at home to Crystal Palace and they have since suffered a last-gasp 2-1 defeat at Nottingham Forest.
Even this early season, Paul Heckingbottom's side look like they will be facing an uphill struggle in their fight for survival and they are unlikely to find any respite when the champions come to town.
Outright Betting
Sheffield United last toppled Manchester City in a league game way back in January 2000 and that long wait is expected to continue, with the Blades big outsiders at 17/1 (BetVictor) while the draw can be backed at 7/1 (UniBet)
Manchester City swept Sheffield United aside 3-0 in an FA Cup Quarter final tie last season and the bookies odds suggest a similar scoreline could lie in wait this weekend, with the visitors lowly 1/6 (Bet 365) shots.
Betting Angles
This fixture feels like a bit of a Premier League mismatch and it's therefore a case of having to get creative to eke out a decent price with a view to getting Manchester City onside.
I'll therefore head to the Bet Builder market and merge Man City to Win and Erling Haaland to score at anytime, a backable 4/5 shot with Bet 365.
Man City have been the epitome of a flat-track bully en-route to earning three consecutive Premier League titles, particularly flexing their muscles against the division's lesser lights, as evidenced by the fact that they dropped points on just two occasions when coming up against bottom-half finishers last season.
What's more, the ruthless streak that their superstar striker Erling Haaland has had to show since arriving at the Etihad last summer lends credence to that train of thought.
After smashing the scoring record for a single Premier League season, Man City's goal machine wasted no time opening his account for the new campaign with a brace against Burnley, and he will certainly smell blood against a Sheffield United outfit that look very much a Championship standard team on paper.
This particular Bet Builder would have paid out in a 20 towering 26 of City top-flight triumphs in which Haaland featured in last season , and it also copped at Turf Moor on the opening weekend, so supporting the same formula in the Steel City on Sunday stands out at 4/5 (Bet 365).
Team news permitting, I'll also have a small play on Sheffield United's Ben Osborn to go into the book at 8/1 (UniBet).
The Blades utility man was booked against Nottingham Forest last Friday night and if he finds himself deployed in the same right wing-back role this weekend, then he could be worthy of interest to have his name taken given that he will be operating in the same vicinity as Jack Grealish, a player who is regularly on the wrong end of some rough treatment from opposing defenders.
This English Premier League match between Sheffield United and Manchester City will be played on Aug 27, 2023 and kick off at 14:00. Check below for our tipsters best Sheffield United vs Manchester City prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
