It’s the most wonderful time, of the year. Yes, the holiday season means festive period fixture congestion, and for United the critical stretch starts on Thursday. They’ll visit Sheffield United, which begins a slate that sees six games in 17 days, with matches coming three days apart each.
On paper, this should be the easiest match, because the Blades have just a single point to show for their efforts. That’s five points behind the penultimate side, West Bromwich Albion, and one has to wonder how much longer Blades boss Chris Wilder be employed.
Manchester United at Sheffield United FYIs
Kick: Thurs Dec 17, 8pm GMT Bramall Lane
MUFC team news: go here
TV/streaming: Amazon Prime
That’s extremely disappointing, given how Sheffield were in the mix for the top four late until last season, and contending for a Europa League slot up until Championship Sunday. Now they’re almost certain to suffer relegation.
United come into this match with near full fitness in their squad, as manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has just two injury concerns. Here’s what we believe he’ll go with in his first team.
Manchester United Starting XI Prediction (4-3-3) at Sheffield United: De Gea, Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw, McTominay, Fred, Fernandes, Greenwood, Martial, Rashford
Manchester United 3, Sheffield United 0
This was the scoreline of the last meeting, and with Blades looking lifeless right now, expect another blowout here.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.