Manchester United will endeavour to claim back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time this season when they travel to Bramall Lane to face Sheffield United on Saturday evening.
While the hosts are rooted to the foot of the table following a winless start to the campaign, the visitors are languishing in 10th place and already find themselves eight points behind the summit.
Match preview
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Sheffield United are one of just two Premier League teams along with Bournemouth who are yet to celebrate a victory this season, picking up just one point from their opening eight matches since securing promotion from the Championship.
The Blades were condemned to their seventh league loss of the campaign by Fulham before the international break, losing 3-1 at Craven Cottage, although the defeat was marred by the gruesome lower-leg injury sustained to Chris Basham, who is facing a significant period on the sidelines after undergoing two separate operations.
No team promoted to the Premier League have ever had a worse start than Sheffield United at this stage, and defeat on Saturday would see them become the first club in English top-flight history to claim just one point or fewer from their opening nine matches of multiple seasons, after doing so in 2020-21. Nevertheless, Paul Heckingbottom has encouraged his players to "enjoy" their Premier League survival battle and 'enjoy the problems' that top-flight football can pose.
Despite their poor start, Sheffield United are only three points adrift of safety, but improvements in defence are required if they are to end their miserable run, as they have conceded a league-high 22 goals across their first eight games, shipping two or more goals in each of their last seven.
The Blades have only won two of their 10 Premier League meetings with Saturday's opponents Man United – their first (a 2-1 home win) took place on the opening weekend of the inaugural 1992-93 season, while their second was secured in their most recent encounter in January 2021 when they came away from Old Trafford with a surprise 2-1 victory.
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Heckingbottom is not the only Premier League manager under pressure to get results, as Erik ten Hag has endured a turbulent start to the new campaign at Man United, with the Dutchman overseeing the club's worst-ever start to a top-flight season for 34 years following a run of four defeats in their opening seven matches.
After losing successive games at Old Trafford to Crystal Palace and Galatasaray in the Premier League and Champions League respectively, the Red Devils were staring down the barrel at another disappointing home loss to Brentford before the international break, but substitute Scott McTominay came to the rescue in dramatic fashion as he netted two goals in second-half stoppage time to snatch all three points in a 2-1 victory.
Amid the club's ongoing ownership saga that has recently seen Qatari investor Sheikh Jassim withdraw his multi-billion pound bid and Sir Jim Ratcliffe edge closer to securing a 25% stake, Man United are tasked with building a positive run of form as they attempt to close the five-point gap that separates them in 10th from Liverpool in fourth spot.
While the Red Devils' inconsistent home form is a cause for concern, their efforts on the road have also left a little to be desired, as away defeats to Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Bayern Munich were followed by a slender 1-0 win at newly-promoted Burnley last month.
Man United are yet to claim consecutive top-flight away wins in 2023, but they will fancy their chances of doing so against Sheffield United this weekend, as they have won each of their last nine league fixtures against promoted teams as well as each of their last six such matches away from home.
Team News
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Sheffield United's Basham will be joined in the treatment room by John Egan (Achilles), with both players set to miss the rest of the season, while Tom Davies is also facing a lengthy spell out with an thigh injury; Daniel Jebbison (illness) is another who remains unavailable for selection.
Ben Osborn could return against the Red Devils after missing the last six games with a groin problem, while Rhys Norrington-Davies (thigh), Max Lowe (ankle), George Baldock (calf) and William Osula (muscle) are all closing in on a return, but Saturday's game will likely come too soon for the quartet.
The absence of Basham will likely see Jack Robinson deputise in the back three alongside Anel Ahmedhodzic and Auston Trusty, while Luke Thomas and Jayden Bogle are set to continue as wing-backs.
Manchester City loanee James McAtee and John Fleck will both be pushing to start in midfield, while Benie Traore will battle with Oli McBurnie and Cameron Archer for a start in attack.
As for Man United, Casemiro has been ruled out with a "small issue" sustained on international duty with Brazil, and he will join Lisandro Martinez (foot), Luke Shaw, Aaron Wan-Bissaka (both muscle), Tyrell Malacia, Amad Diallo (both knee) and Kobbie Mainoo (ankle) on the sidelines; Jadon Sancho is also set to miss out due to his well-documented fall-out with Ten Hag.
However, Sofyan Amrabat - who withdrew from the Morocco squad earlier this month - Raphael Varane, and Sergio Reguilon are all available for selection after recovering from injury, and the former could links arms with McTominay in centre-midfield in the absence of Casemiro.
The return of centre-back Varane and left-back Reguilon will likely see Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans make way, with Victor Lindelof - who is also available for selection despite being caught up in Sweden's abandoned Euro 2024 qualifier in Belgium amid a terrorist attack - expected to move across from left-back to centre-back.
Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund all scored for their respective countries earlier this week and the Red Devils trio are all set to line up in attack, with the former either operating on the right or in the number 10 role.
Sheffield United possible starting lineup:
Foderingham; Trusty, Ahmedhodzic, Robinson; Bogle, Norwood, Souza, Thomas; Hamer, McAtee; Archer
Manchester United possible starting lineup:
Onana; Dalot, Varane, Lindelof, Reguilon; Amrabat, McTominay; Fernandes, Mount, Rashford; Hojlund
We say: Sheffield United 1-3 Manchester United
Both teams are under pressure to claim a positive result this weekend and the contest between two defensively frail sides could result in goals at both ends at Bramall Lane.
Although Sheffield United will relish playing in front of a fired-up home crowd, Man United should ultimately have the attacking resources at their disposal to avoid an upset and come away from South Yorkshire with maximum points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Oliver Thomas
