In just over 24 hours, Sheffield United will take to the pitch at Wembley to face off with the best club side in the world right now, Manchester City.
City come into the game having cruised into the semi-finals of the Champions League in midweek. They drew 1-1 with Bayern Munich and went through 4-1 on aggregate.
Of course, it was only a few seasons ago that United played City in the Premier League. The Manchester side won out in this clashes, but United put up a good fight on all occasions.
And speaking to the press ahead of this weekend, Pep Guardiola was under no illusions as to how difficult the task was ahead of his City side.
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“It’s quite similar to the way they played under Chris Wilder. They did an incredible first season [in the Premier League]. A lot of patterns. They are one game away from Premier League promotion and it will be an extremely difficult game,” Guardiola said.
“For the quality of the set pieces, build up and building the channels. They are so aggressive in the duals. This is the feeling I have. We need to be there at 4:45 to deserve to be in the final.”
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As long as it’s done in a controlled manner, that is. The last thing United need is to get a red card at Wembley and simply make the game a walk in the park for City.
However, United do need to get into the faces of this Manchester City side. The last thing the fans want to see is the Blades sitting off and letting City pick us off at will.
Defending deep might be needed at times, simply because City are so good. But playing on the front foot with an aggression we’ve seen all season will also be crucial.
Guardiola is a smart man. He knows what to expect. And he’ll have his Man City side right up for this one.
