'Brave' Sheffield United can take heart from previous Man City clashes
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Although City have won all of their last four encounters with United, three of those victories came by only a single goal with the reigning Premier League champions also triumphing 2-0 at the Etihad Stadium during the first of two seasons Bogle’s employers spent at the highest level under Paul Heckingbottom’s predecessor Chris Wilder.
United also won the most recent meeting between these two clubs in knockout competition, overcoming City 2-1 at Bramall Lane a decade-and-a-half ago.
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Bogle, who moved to South Yorkshire in 2020, featured in the last of those clashes when Gabriel Jesus’ early strike proved enough to see Guardiola’s men take all three points.
As he prepares to renew City’s acquaintance, the defender said: “We have been in all of those games and that can give us a great deal of confidence. There are going to be spells when we have to show that we are determined to get on the ball and be brave with it. You know City are going to have a lot of possession. When we have it, it’s important to make it count and how we’ve done against them in the past, that should give us the belief to do that.”
“We have respect for what they can do,” Bogle added. “But we don’t want to give them too much respect either.”
MORE: United on the brink
Despite being on course to gain automatic promotion back to the top-flight - Tuesday’s win Bristol City saw them consolidate their second grip on second place with four league matches remaining - United enter this weekend’s contest as rank outsiders given the wealth of talent at Guardiola’s disposal. It includes the likes of Erling Haaland, Rodri, Kevin de Bruyne, Riyad Mahrez and former United full-back Kyle Walker.
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Hide AdBogle visited the national stadium with his former employers Derby County, losing to Aston Villa in the 2019 Championship play-off final.
“It’s good to have that experience,” he said. “The result didn’t go our way but I enjoyed it beforehand and can fall back on that. When it starts, it’s just like any normal game.”