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2023/24 English Premier League
Matchday 20
Manchester City v Sheffield United
Etihad Stadium
Manchester, England
Saturday, 30 December 2023
Kick-off is at 17h00
Manchester City will look to end the year on a high when they welcome
Premier League basement club Sheffield United to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, December 30.
The Citizens have been nowhere near their best this season and they've conceded in each of their last eight matches to fall behind in the title race.
Pep Guardiola's side battle back from a goal down to beat Everton 3-1 at Goodison Park on December 27 as they climbed back into the top four after going unbeaten in their last thee games.
City gained ground on Aston Villa (3rd) and Arsenal (2nd), who both lost last time out, while they trail league leaders Liverpool by five points.
Image copyright: Getty Images
The Blades are showing signs of life under Chris Wilder, having beaten Brentford 1-0 and drawn 1-1 with Aston Villa before losing 3-2 to Luton at Bramall Lane on Boxing Day.
Wilder's side remain rooted to the foot of the table on nine points, two behind Burnley (19th) and further four adrift of the Hatters (18th), who have now won two on the spin to close within a point of safety.
Phil Foden was City's most dangerous player against Everton, attempting seven of their 23 shots at goal and equalising with a rasping strike from outside the area on 53 minutes. He operated in a more central position behind Julian Alvarez and took more shots than any other player on the pitch, while completing 94 per cent of his passes.
Wes Foderingham was at fault for Luton's opener after he allowed Alfie Doughty's shot from an acute angle to squirm through his legs at the near post. The Blades goalkeeper made three saves in the match and he'll need to be at his best for the visit to Manchester as he looks for only his second clean sheet of the season after shipping 47 goals in 19 appearances.
Guardiola reserved special praise for Foden and believes there is still much more to come from the winger, who took his tally for the season to five goals from 18 appearances.
"We forget sometimes how young Phil is," the Spaniard said. "The talent is there: winger, striker, drop in, he can play in attacking midfielder and without options from Erling [Haaland] we need a sense of goal.
"Otherwise, we don't have many players with a real sense of goal that's why how he's playing is so important. We're pleased. Don't forget he's young and has lots to improve to be top class for many years."
Wilder was left to rue the poor defending that led to Jack Robinson (77') and Anis Ben Slimane (81') conceding two own-goals in the space of four minutes in the closing stages.
"We chucked it away. We got ourselves in a fabulous position, 2-1 up with 15 minutes to go. As a lot of teams do, they take a step back instead of taking a step forward from two situations," he told Amazon Prime Sport.
"I'm not looking at the little bit of the luck, but where we are, the bravery, the organisation to get on the edge of the box and let it run through to the goalkeeper. Really, really poor goals.
"Regardless of what division you're in, they're poor goals. Today we don't stop a cross, basic football, and we're sat on the edge of the six-yard box.
"It's not the centre-forward defending there, it's defenders who need to be a little bit braver with the line and their attitude toward defending."
Head-to-Head (Last Five Premier League Meetings)
Matches - 5
Man City - 0
Sheffield U - 0
Draws - 0
Premier League Matchday 20 fixtures:
Saturday, December 30
14h30: Luton Town v Chelsea
17h00: Aston Villa v Burnley
17h00: Crystal Palace v Brentford
17h00: Manchester City v Sheffield United
17h00: Wolverhampton Wanderers v Everton
19h30: Nottingham Forest v Manchester United
Sunday, December 31
16h00: Fulham v Arsenal
16h00: Tottenham Hotspur v Bournemouth
Monday, January 1
22h00: Liverpool v Newcastle United
Tuesday, January 2
21h30: West Ham United v Brighton & Hove Albion
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