Sheffield United welcome Sunderland to Bramall Lane in a stand-out midweek clash in 2022-23 Sky Bet Championship clash.
Victory would see Sheffield Utd climb as high as fourth in the table, whereas a win could lift Sunderland up to second if Cardiff lose elsewhere.
Team News
Billy Sharp is ruled out for Sheffield Utd after he suffered an ankle injury in Sunday’s 2-2 draw at Middlesbrough.
Chris Basham (hamstring) is set to be available for selection for the first time this season but Ben Osborn (ankle) is sidelined after he missed Sunday’s trip to Boro, as did Ciaran Clark who has an unspecified injury.
Adam Davies, Jack O’Connell, Jayden Bogle (all knee) and Enda Stevens (calf) all remain absent.
Sunderland will be without defender, Dan Ballard after he suffered a foot fracture in Saturday’s 2-2 draw against QPR.
Niall Huggins (heel) and Carl Winchester (back) are also ruled out.
Stat Attack
- Sheffield Utd have won three of four previous Championship meetings against Sunderland (W3, L1).
- Sunderland lost their two previous Championship visits to Sheffield Utd without scoring (L2), during which they conceded four goals in total – 1-0 in September 2004 and 3-0 in December 2017.
- Sheffield United have conceded just three goals and scored six goals in their four previous Championship meetings against Sunderland.
- Sander Berge has scored in two consecutive matches for Sheffield Utd on three occasions in 2022 – having done so in March, May and August.
- Ellis Simms has scored three goals in two appearances for Sunderland since joining on loan from Everton earlier this month.
Prediction
Sheffield Utd are yet to fully find their feet this season but can take heart from their attacking performances in their last two matches, which have been full of promise and quality even if their defence has been hindered by injury related absentees with just one clean sheet in all competitions.
Sunderland meanwhile seem to have settled quickly back into the second-tier with their fearless footballing style, so I do expect them to come out and look to cause issues across the pitch even if they’re yet to score at Bramall Lane since this division was rebranded as the Championship.
Alex Neil’s Black Cats though do have their own defensive injury concerns on top of no clean sheets in all competitions this season, which could well open the game up because both teams really will be eager to go for it in attack to avoid having to defend for long periods.
A draw therefore seems like a fair guess but even if Sunderland end their goalless rut at Bramall Lane, I fancy the Blades to have the edge if they play like they’ve done in their last two league matches.
Prediction: Sheffield United 2-1 Sunderland
Result: Sheffield United 2-1 Sunderland
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