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Manchester United welcome Sheffield United to Old Trafford tonight, aiming to get their quest for European football back on track.
The Red Devils were comfortably heading for the final of the FA Cup after being 3-0 up against Coventry City at Wembley, before chaos broke out and they gave up their lead in the last 20 minutes.
Luckily, from United’s perspective they survived an almighty scare when Coventry had a late winner in extra-time ruled out for offside and, instead, won the penalty shootout 4-2.
They are currently seventh but a win will take them three points ahead of Newcastle United in the table in sixth. Sheffield United are rooted to the bottom of the table and, no matter the result, appear destined to drop back down to the Championship.
The fixture tonight will be the 99th match between the two sides with the Red Devils winning 47 of the historical encounters, including a 1-2 win at Brammall Lane earlier in the season.
Here are some plotlines that the away fans will be discussing before the game commences.
Can Bruno Fernandes continue his fine form?
The 2023-24 season will hardly be remembered as a vintage, even if they pull off a miracle to beat Manchester City in the FA Cup final.
Poor performances all over the park and a likely 6th or 7th finish in the Premier League are well below expectations at a club like United.
However, as always, the one player who can hold his head high for his efforts this season is Bruno Fernandes.
The captain scored his 13th goal of the season and his corner that Harry Maguire headed home brought him his 10th assist of the current campaign.
He has five goals in his last five Premier League games and has really come to life as an attacking force in the last months of the season, which has placed him as the team’s joint top goal scorer alongside Rasmus Hojlund.
Fernandes will be hoping to continue his purple patch in front of goal against the worst team in the league.
Can United break a horrible streak in the Premier League?
Since the beginning of March, United have only one once in the league and this was a nervy 2-0 win at home to Everton on Saturday the 9th of March.
The side has managed to progress past the quarter finals and semi-finals of the cup, but only after extra-time and penalties against Liverpool and Coventry City.
What this means is since February 18th, United have one win in the Premier League, three draws and three losses.
The spectacular collapse in form has taken Erik ten Hag’s men right out of the equation for a Champions League spot next year and has them wrestling with the Magpies for sixth place.
Fans will be hoping consecutive home games against Sheffield United and Burnley will be a chance to get some much-needed points on the board.
Two Man United goals will break an unwanted record for the visitors
The Red Devil’s season has been tough but spare a thought for the Blades. They sit rock bottom of the league with 16 points and only three wins in the league all season.
In addition they have conceded 88 goals and have a goal difference of -57.
According to the BBC, the side from Bramall Lane only need to concede two more goals to break the all-time Premier League record of most goals against in a season.
This is currently held by Derby County who conceded 89 goals in the 2007-2008. United will be hoping to score at least two against the hapless side tonight and hence, break the record for them.
The Red Devils will certainly be eyeing a rare chance to score a few goals and gain a comfortable victory for a change.
