Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder makes a prediction about his team's clash with Leicester City

Despite revealing that United will resist the temptation to adopt a conservative approach in order to frustrate opponents who make the journey north without a win in four, Wilder warned the visitors’ recent chequered form does not reflect the talent at their disposal - both on the pitch and in the dugout where he is preparing to lock horns with the “brilliant” Brendan Rodgers.

United remained bottom of the table when they were narrowly beaten by fellow strugglers West Bromwich Albion last weekend and Wilder, whose players have lost nine of their 10 outings so far this term, said: “I’m not looking at Leicester’s results or fixtures. I’m just looking at our group and trying to get a big performance. I have a lot of respect for Leicester, with the Thai influence over the years and they are fast forwarding to try and break into the top echelons of the Premier League. They have a brilliant manager, who has achieved everywhere he’s been, and can definitely get them there.

“There’s having a go off the pitch and they’re having a go on it. That’s the perfect combination. They are set to go for a good few years.”

Although their march to the title in 2016 was dismissed as a one-off by some pundits, the financial support provided by City’s owners, the Bangkok based King Power International Group, have seen them finish in the top half of the table in three of the four seasons since. Ranked fourth following the latest round of games, Rodgers, previously of Liverpool and Celtic, guided them to fifth last term.

Promoted from the Championship 20 months ago, United’s second top-flight campaign since 2007 is proving to be a more sobering experience than the one which delivered a ninth placed finish earlier this year. Injuries to key players, including Jack O’Connell, Lys Mousset and John Fleck, have proved to be a debilitating handicap while a lack of ruthlessness in the final third has also prevented Wilder’s men from making the most of some otherwise encouraging displays. Only one of the losses they have suffered since conceding twice to Wolverhampton Wanderers on the opening day has been by more than a single goal, despite facing Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal in recent weeks.

City had won six in a row before a 3-0 reverse at Anfield put the breaks on that run. Held to a 3-3 draw by Braga in the Europa League in their next appearance, Rodgers’ men then suffered a shock defeat to Fulham before being edged out by Zorya on Thursday evening.

United, who expect both Fleck and Mousset to feature after recovering from back and toe complaints respectively, will hand late fitness tests to Enda Stevens (leg) and Ethan Ampadu (hip) before deciding their starting eleven. If the duo are both ruled-out, Wilder must decide whether to name either Jack Robinson or Kean Bryan on the left-hand side of defence, after the latter made his league debut for the club at The Hawthorns seven days ago.

“You’ll have to see (if Bryan did enough), “ Wilder said, keeping his cards close to his chest. “I thought he did okay. He grew into the game, which I expected him to do. He’s trained well. I certainly don’t think he was the reason for us conceding a goal. He wasn’t a part of us not taking our chances either.”

“Yet again, Enda is close,” Wilder continued. “We’ll give him the opportunity of being involved.

“There’s a chance. He’s been out on the grass and he’s got a chance of being involved.

“Ethan has trained as well, he’s another one we’ll make a late decision on. Hopefully they’ll come through training tomorrow and we’ll take it from there.”

Either way, Wilder has ruled out a change of system despite his exhaustive and so far unsuccessful search for a solution to the problem caused by O’Connell’s absence. With youngster Rhys Norrington-Davies apparently destined to remain on loan at Luton Town, despite recently being awarded his first senior Wales cap, coaching staff hope an experienced replacement will be signed during next month’s transfer window. Manchester United’s Marcos Rojo is known to boast admirers among United’s board of directors while Wilder monitored Preston North End’s Ben Davies and Terence Kongolo, before his move from Huddersfield Town to Fulham, before the October deadline.

“We look all the time at systems, but it’s not the system that is dropping us points,” Wilder said. “Systems give you a foothold in games and we’ve had a foothold in all of the games. What systems don’t do is cost you with and without the ball.”

United have lost their last five games against City, with Wilder particularly critical of his team’s performance at the KP Stadium towards the end of last term. However, with United already dragged into a battle for survival, he has adopted a much more conciliatory approach when assessing their displays this season.

“We went toe to toe with them last year and I expect us to go toe to toe with them now, because that is how my team is playing,” he said. “We’ve done that against Manchester City and Liverpool. We’re getting there, we can’t keep saying we’re a million miles off though. We need to get there.”

Turkish defender Caglar Soyuncu is a doubt for City after appearing to suffer a recurrence of his recent groin problem during their match in Ukraine.

“It was the moment for him to come in,” Rodgers said, denying he had made a mistake by bringing Soyuncu back too early. “He went through all the protocols with the medical team and was fine. He’s been training for a long period."

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