Manchester United vs Sheffield United Odds
| Manchester United Odds | -275 |
| Sheffield United Odds | +600 |
| Draw | +475 |
| Over / Under | 2.5 -275o / +220u |
Let's dive into the Manchester United vs. Sheffield United odds and make a pick in our EPL betting preview for Wednesday, April 24.
Manchester United look to stay inside the top seven when they host Sheffield United.
Everything was going well for Manchester United in their FA Cup semifinal tie against Coventry City, as they were up 3-0 inside the first hour. Then, in the blink of an eye, they collapsed and allowed three goals, but they did end up winning on penalties. It's astonishing how much they have over-performed just to be in a position to potentially get a spot in the Europa Conference League. To do so though, they are going to need all three points from this match.
It's tough times for Sheffield United, who all but made their relegation to the Championship official after losing at home to Burnley over the weekend. The Blades have improved a little bit under Chris Wilder, but they've been one of the worst defenses in Premier League history, which is the reason they are at the bottom of the table.
Man United
It’s the same old story week after week with Manchester United. They were actually playing really well against Coventry City for the first hour of the match. They were controlling possession, pinning Coventry in their own final third and limiting their transition opportunities. However, because of injuries and exhaustion, once Coventry started to play more aggressively things started to open up for them and they went on scored three goals and create over two expected goals.
In 2024, Manchester United have kept one clean sheet in the Premier League, they have only held one opponent under one expected goal, and they are conceding 2.33 xG per 90 minutes.
The situation isn’t getting better anytime soon, because they are going through a pretty massive injury crisis across their backline. Casemiro was forced to play as an emergency center back alongside Harry Maguire and was responsible for them conceding the first goal on Sunday because he miscommunicated with Dalot.
The Manchester United attack through has been playing pretty well. The Red Devils have scored in every single match in 2024 and have all of their attackers healthy. They are averaging close to 1.50 xG per 90 minutes and have been very threatening in transition moments, so they should have no problem creating chances against Sheffield United's defense.
Sheffield United
Sheffield United have been playing more aggressively lately and been more willing to come out of their low defensive block because they have nothing else to lose. They’ve been creating a decent amount of chances lately, as they’ve created 8.3 expected goals over their last six matches. They also have dealt with a lot of injuries to their attack, but their three best attackers, Ben Brereton, Cameron Archer and Oliver McBurnie are all available to play together.
The problem for Sheffield United all season long has been their defense. The Blades have played out of a 3-5-2 and playing a back five out of possession for the entire season, but it hasn't worked. They are dead last in almost every single defensive metric, so lately they've decided to press more and play more open because they have absolutely nothing to lose at this point in the season.
The other big issue with Sheffield is not only are they not very good in a passive low block and are allowing a ton of shots, but the goalkeeping situation has been a mess as well. Wes Foderingham played most of the season in net, but he really never stood a chance because by nature he's not a great shot-stopper. He conceded four own goals by himself and had a -1.5 post shot xG +/-.
Ivo Grbić is now starting and it's somehow even worse because in his 8.6 90s that he's played, he has a -8.3 post shot xG +/-, meaning he is giving up about a goal per match more than an average keeper should, which is unfathomably bad for the highest level of football.
Man United vs Sheffield United
Prediction
I don’t think anything more really needs to be said about how bad Sheffield United’s defense has been, so Manchester United should have a pretty easy time creating chances, but they are not going to be able to control this match, so Sheffield will have their chances in transition.
Sheffield United have been so bad defensively all season long and the goalkeeper situation continues to somehow get worse by the match. Relegation isn't official, but it is the reality for the Blades, so I don't see how they can just sit in a passive defensive block when teams have had so much success playing in up and down transition matches with Manchester United.
With how bad these two defenses are, I like the value on both teams to score at -148.
