Confirmed Line-Ups: Manchester City vs Sheffield United (Premier League)

Manchester City will be looking to close out a historic 2023 calendar year with a victory on Saturday afternoon as they take on Sheffield United at the Etihad Stadium.

Pep Guardiola’s reigning Champions find themselves in a promising position in the Premier League title race, lying in fourth position and five points from the top but with a game in hand on the three teams above them.

It was a comeback victory last time around for Manchester City as they travelled to Everton on Wednesday night, recording an exciting 1-3 victory over Sean Dyche’s men despite finding themselves 1-0 behind at the half-time interval.

Second-half goals from Phil Foden, Julian Alvarez, and Bernardo Silva recovered the Premier League champions, as they look to use their buoyant win at the FIFA Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia as motivation to kick on in domestic competition.

Injuries continue to hamper Pep Guardiola’s first-team squad however, with Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku, and John Stones all away from training ahead of the clash with the Blades this weekend, while Kevin De Bruyne is making good progress in his recovery.

Stones became the latest Manchester City star to sustain an injury problem having sustained an ankle problem in the first-half of the midweek win against Everton, with manager Guardiola admitting that the England international is likely to be out “for a while”.

Ahead of kick-off at the home of the Champions of the World, both Pep Guardiola and Chris Wilder have now confirmed their respective starting line-ups.

Manchester City

Starting XI: Ederson; Walker, Akanji, Ake, Gvardiol; Rodri, Kovacic, Bernardo; Foden, Alvarez, Grealish.

Substitutes: Ortega Moreno, Lewis, Dias, Gomez, Phillips, Nunes, De Bruyne, Bobb, Hamilton.

Sheffield United

Starting XI: Foderingham; Bogle, Baldock, Robinson, Trusty, Thomas; Souza, Norwood, Slimane, Brooks; Osula.

Substitutes: Davies, Seriki, Norrington-Davies, Osborn, Larouci, Archer, Traore, Brewster, McBurnie.