How to watch, the referee, the form: Your guide to Leicester City v Sheffield United - the first outing of the post Chris Wilder era

The Star’s James Shield analyses some of the facts and figures surrounding this Premier League contest, and identifies some of the major names set to be involved.

The Teams: City - Schmeichel, Fofana, Soyuncu, Amartey, Taveres, Tielemens, Ndidi, Castagne, Pereira, Vardy, Iheanacho. United - Ramsdale, Ampadu, Jagielka, Bryan, Stevens, Baldock, Norwood, Fleck, Lundstram, Brewster, Sharp.

The Referee: Peter Bankes, from Lancashire, will oversee the game while David Coote of Nottinghamshire is the VAR, Bankes averages 2.95 cautions per game this term and exactly four during his two previous appointments involving United. Six of those yellow cards came during their trip to Brighton and Hove Albion, when John Lundstram was dismissed. Bankes also took charge of their trip to Manchester United, which ended in a 2-1 win for the visitors.

The Form Guide: United travel to the east Midlands having lost four and won one of their last five games, scoring once and conceding eight times in the process. Their last clean sheet on the road in league competition came in June, when they were controversially held to a goalless draw at Aston Villa; the first match of Project Restart following the Covid-19 pandemic. In their last five outings, City have won two, lost two and draw one, scoring six goals and letting in eight. Their most recent PL clean sheet came in January, during a 2-0 win over Chelsea.

The Opposition Manager: Brendan Rodgers is five years younger than Chris Wilder who parted company with his boyhood club on Friday morning. Wilder had twice steered his club to promotion after taking charge in 2016. Rodgers joined City in 2019 following a three year spell with Celtic where he delivered seven major trophies including two Scottish Premiership titles.

The Last Time Out: Jamie Vardy scored a 90th minute winner when the two clubs faced each other at Bramall Lane in December, after Oli McBurnie had cancelled-out Ayoze Perez’s opener for City. Rodgers’ team enjoyed 70 percent of the possession during that fixture, converting two of the four on target chances they created. United netted from their only one of the afternoon.

The History Lesson: Despite their poor results against City of late, United have actually won only three fewer of their previous meetings than the hosts. The first of those took place in January 1900, when United triumphed 1-0 at home thanks to a goal from Walter ‘Cocky’ Bennett. City, who have recorded 34 victories compared to United’s total of 31, were last beaten by Wilder’s former employers in April 2008. Earlier that season, United claimed their last victory over City at the KP Stadium, with Danny Webber claiming the only goal of the contest early in the second-half, turning home Phil Bardsley’s cross at the near post.

The Details: City versus United, kick-off tomorrow 2pm. Pre-game, in-game and post match analysis is available via The Star. The match is live on Sky Sports Premier League and Main Event from 1pm.

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