Aston Villa vs Sheffield United
Villa Park, Birmingham
Monday, 21-09-2020 @8pm
Ref: Graham Scott
Sheffield United’s most recent away league victory in this fixture was back in January 1966, although they did win at Villa as recently as January 2014 in the FA Cup. The Blades have gone four league games without defeat against Aston Villa, home and away.
New signing Emiliano Martinez is expected to start in goal for Aston Villa’s belated opening league game of the season on Monday. Ollie Watkins and Matty Cash are poised to make their Premier League debuts.
Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder reported no new fresh injuries after his side’s Carabao Cup tie against Burnley on Thursday. Debutants Max Lowe, Jayden Bogle, Ethan Ampadu, Wes Foderingham and Oli Burke all impressed Wilder in that game.
Villa ended last season with successive home victories. They haven’t managed three Premier League wins in a row at Villa Park since a four-match streak in October 2007. The Villans have only earned one point from their past five opening home games of a Premier League season since beating Blackburn in 2011. They are winless in eight Premier League games in the month of September since beating Liverpool at Anfield in 2014 (D2, L6). New signing Ollie Watkins scored 26 goals for Brentford in 2019-20 – a joint high with Fulham’s Aleksandar Mitrovic in the top four English divisions, including the play-offs.
The Blades haven’t started a top-flight campaign with two consecutive defeats since 1973-74. Sheffield United have lost four successive league games. They haven’t fared worse since a run of six defeats in League One from August to September 2013. Wilder’s side are winless in six away league games since beating Crystal Palace 1-0 in February, only managing two points and two goals. Sheffield United have only won their opening league away match in two of the past 30 seasons: 2-1 at Burnley in the 2005-06 Championship and 2-0 versus Oldham in the 2011-12 League One.
Wolves vs Man City
Molinuex Stadium, West Midlands
Monday, 21-09-2020 @10:15pm
Ref: Andre Marriner
Wolves are without forward Diogo Jota following his departure to Liverpool, while Jonny remains on the sidelines with a long-term knee injury. Manchester City’s Riyad Mahrez is available after a spell in isolation because of a positive coronavirus test.
However, Aymeric Laporte is not yet ready to feature having been in isolation himself, while Sergio Aguero remains out injured. Nathan Ake and Ferran Torres are available to make their debuts.
Wolves were one of just two sides, along with Manchester United, to complete a Premier League double over Manchester City last season. They haven’t managed three straight top-flight victories against City since October 1961.
Victory would make Wolves just the fourth team to win 2,000 games in the top four English division, emulating Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal. Wolves are unbeaten in their opening home league fixture in each of the past 10 seasons. They are aiming to win three consecutive top-flight home matches for the first time since November 1980. Conor Coady is one short of 200 league appearances for Wolves. He has played in 112 consecutive league matches for them dating back to September 2017.
Manchester City can equal Aston Villa’s record of winning 10 consecutive opening fixtures to a top-flight season, set between 1891 and 1900. Last season, City lost seven of their 12 Premier League matches against the other teams who finished in the top seven of the table. They won their final five Premier League fixtures of last season by an aggregate score of 21-1. Pep Guardiola is in danger of losing three consecutive league games against a single opponent for the first time in his managerial career.
Weekend’s results
Saturday, 19-09-2020
-Everton 5-2 West Bromwich Albion 6
-Leeds United 4-2 Fulham
-Man United 1-3 Crystal Palace
-Arsenal 2-1 West Ham United
Sunday, 20-09-2020
-Southampton 2-5 Tottenham Hotspur
-Newcastle United 0-2 Brighton and Hove Albion
-Chelsea 0-2 Liverpool
-Leicester City 4-2 Burnley
