Sheffield United welcome West Bromwich Albion to Bramall Lane in the Championship on Saturday after both sides were knocked out of the FA Cup.
It is the fifth round of the FA Cup this weekend and the Blades were knocked out by Mansfield Town in the third round, whilst Norwich City beat the Baggies in the fourth round.
Chris Wilder’s side are nine points off the play-off places heading into this game, whilst West Brom are one point above the bottom three in their fight to avoid relegation.
The last meeting
The last meeting between the two teams was a 2-0 win for West Bromwich at The Hawthorns, thanks to goals from Aune Heggebo and Karlan Grant.
Sheffield United had been on an unbeaten run of six games, scoring at least three goals in four of their last five games, before they were beaten fairly comfortably by the Baggies.
West Brom, though, have only won one of their 14 league matches since that game and are onto their third manager of the season, after confirming James Morrison as Eric Ramsay’s short-term replacement.
Ryan Mason was in charge for the 2-0 win, before Ramsay failed to win any of his games in charge, so the Blades should expect a completely different test for this game.
Sheffield United recent Championship form:
L W W L W
West Brom recent Championship form:
D D L D L
Team news
The headline news for Sheffield United is that goalkeeper Michael Cooper will not be available for selection after he was ruled out for 12 weeks with a knee injury earlier this month.
Wilder will also be without central midfielder Kalvin Phillips, who is on loan from Manchester City, after he was sent off in the Steel City derby last month.
West Brom, meanwhile, will be without star forward Mikey Johnston after he suffered an ankle injury that is set to keep him on the sidelines for an extended period.
The Baggies are already without forward Karlan Grant, who scored in the reverse fixture, because he underwent hamstring surgery in January and is expected to miss almost the rest of this season.
Both managers, therefore, have key players missing from their respective squads and will have to be creative to put out a team that can go and get a result.
Predicted lineups
Sheffield United: Davies; Hoever, Tanganga, Bindon, Burrows; Riedewald, Peck, Chong; O’Hare, Campbell, Hamer
After a 2-0 win against QPR last time out, Wilder may not want to make too many changes to his team. However, Gustavo Hamer could come in for Tom Cannon in a formation change from a 4-4-2 to a 4-3-3.
West Brom: O’Leary; Campbell, Bielik, Taylor, Styles; Mowatt, Molumby; Bostock, Price, Jimoh-Aloba; Heggebo
Morrison could make several changes to the team after the 2-1 loss to Oxford United in his first game, with Oliver Bostock, Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba, and Aune Heggebo all coming in for the injured Johnston, Jed Wallace, and Josh Maja.
|
Predicted XIs |
|
|---|---|
|
Sheffield United |
WBA |
|
GK – Davies |
GK – O’Leary |
|
RB – Hoever |
RB – Campbell |
|
CB – Tanganga |
CB – Bielik |
|
CB – Bindon |
CB – Taylor |
|
LB – Burrows |
LB – Styles |
|
CM – Riedewald |
CM – Molumby |
|
CM – Peck |
CM – Mowatt |
|
CM – Chong |
RW – Bostock |
|
RW – O’Hare |
AM – Price |
|
CF – Campbell |
LW – Jimoh-Aloba |
|
LW – Hamer |
CF – Heggebo |
A win for the Blades could send them closer to competing for a place in the play-offs, whilst a win for the Baggies could be the difference between League One and Championship football for next season.