Manchester City v Sheffield United predictions and odds: City can stay on course for trophy treble

Where to watch Manchester City v Sheffield United

ITV1, 4.45pm Saturday

Best bet

Manchester City win to nil
1pt 10-11 general

Manchester City v Sheffield United odds

Manchester City 1-7
Sheffield United 18-1
Draw 8-1

Odds correct at time of publishing

Manchester City v Sheffield United team news

Manchester City
Phil Foden (appendix surgery) returned to the squad for the 1-1 draw away to Bayern Munich on Wednesday. Nathan Ake (hamstring) is a doubt.

Sheffield United
Manchester City loanees Tommy Doyle and James McAtee are ineligible to face their parent club and Rhys Norrington-Davies, Rhian Brewster, Ben Osborn and Enda Stevens are injured.

Manchester City v Sheffield United predictions

Manchester City have advanced to the FA Cup semi-finals without conceding a goal and their run of shutouts can continue when they take on Championship highflyers Sheffield United at Wembley.

Pep Guardiola's side are renowned for their attacking prowess and could fill their boots against the Blades, who are the first Championship side to contest an FA Cup semi-final since Reading suffered a 2-1 extra-time defeat to Arsenal in 2015.

But they also have plenty of defensive steel, as they showed across both legs of their 4-1 aggregate success over Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals.

City were put under serious pressure in Wednesday's 1-1 draw in Bavaria — they lost the shot count 19 to seven — but they are unlikely to afford as many sights of goal to the Blades, who approach the semi-final as 18-1 underdogs.

Sheffield United's run to the final four has been achieved despite their main focus being on the second-tier promotion race.

Fringe players have played a major role on the road to Wembley, including the fifth-round clash at home to Tottenham when they prevailed 1-0 despite manager Paul Heckingbottom making eight changes to his starting line-up.

Heckingbottom should go with his strongest available starting 11 against City but he is hampered by the absences of City loanees Tommy Doyle and James McAtee, who have played influential roles in the Blades' promotion push.

McAtee has netted eight times in the Championship, including the opening goals in recent league wins over Cardiff (4-1) and Bristol City (1-0), while Doyle has established himself as a regular in the heart of the midfield and popped up with the injury-time winner in the 3-2 FA Cup quarter-final success over Blackburn.

United are used to dominating games in the Championship but their FA Cup semi-final gameplan will focus on staying in the contest for as long as possible.

City are expected to make changes as part of their preparations for next Wednesday's mammoth Premier League fixture at home to Arsenal and it may take them a while to get into their stride.

However, Guardiola has quality options aplenty with Riyad Mahrez, Julian Alcaraz and Phil Foden pushing for a return to the side.

While the names on the City teamsheet may change, the attitude and focus of the players are unlikely to be affected.

The FA Cup may be third on City's list of priorities but Guardiola's hunger for trophies is never quenched and he will be determined to ensure that standards remain high.

The Citizens were rampant 6-0 winners at home to Championship leaders Burnley in the quarter-finals and another high-scoring success cannot be ruled out.

However, defensive diligence has been a constant throughout their FA Cup run and it seems likely that progress to the final will be underpinned by another clean sheet.

Key stat

Manchester City have registered victories and clean sheets in each of their four FA Cup ties this season.

Probable teams

Manchester City (3-2-4-1): Ortega; Walker, Stones, Laporte; Lewis, Rodri; Mahrez, De Bruyne, Alvarez, Grealish; Haaland.
Subs: Ederson, Dias, Ake, Akanji, Phillips, Silva, Foden, Phillips, Gundogan, Gomez.

Sheffield United (3-5-2): Foderingham; Ahmedhodzic, Egan, Robinson; Baldock, Berge, Norwood, Fleck, Lowe; McBurnie, Ndiaye.
Subs: Davies, Jebbison, Dewhurst, Arblaster, Clark, Coulibaly, Bogle, Sharp, Sachdev.

Inside info

Manchester City

Penalty taker Erling Haaland
Assist ace Kevin De Bruyne
Set-piece aerial threat John Stones
Card magnet Rodri

Sheffield United

Penalty taker Oliver Norwood/Billy Sharp
Assist ace Iliman Ndiaye
Set-piece aerial threat John Egan
Card magnet Anel Ahmedhodzic

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