Sheffield United meet Middlesbrough at Bramall Lane in a crucial Championship clash in the promotion race.
Victory or a draw will see Sheffield Utd stay second whilst Middlesbrough can climb as high as fifth depending on results elsewhere.
Team News
Sheffield Utd have no fresh injury concerns to report following their win over Portsmouth, with Tom Davies set to return after he missed their last three matches due to injury.
Jamie Shackleton (foot) is unlikely to be involved despite having resumed full training but Oliver Arblaster (ACL), Kieffer Moore (hernia) and Femi Seriki (calf) remain sidelined.
Middlesbrough will be without Ben Doak with a thigh injury which forced him to sit out the 3-2 Tees-Wear derby loss to Sunderland.
Anfernee Dijksteel (knock) won’t be risked at Bramall Lane but could return for Boro’s home clash against Watford on 15 February.
Sol Brynn (shoulder), Seny Dieng, Jonny Howson, Riley McGree (all knock), Alex Bangura (Achilles) and Darragh Lenihan (fitness/Achilles) are still sidelined.
When is Kick-Off?
Sheffield Utd host Middlesbrough at 8pm GMT on Wednesday 12 February at Bramall Lane, live on Sky Sports in the UK.
Stat Attack
- Sheffield Utd have won one of their last five meetings against Middlesbrough (W1, D1, L3).
- Middlesbrough have won two of their last five visits to Sheffield Utd (W2, L3).
- Both teams have scored in four of their last five meetings at Bramall Lane, with the Blades netting nine goals to Boro’s seven.
- Gustavo Hamer has been involved in more league goals than any other Sheffield Utd player this season (12), having managed seven goals and five assists in 28 appearances.
- Boro have kept no clean sheets in three league games in which Delano Burgzorg scored this season (W1, L2).
Prediction
Unbeaten in five of their last six league games after scraping a clinical win over Portsmouth with resilient defending last weekend despite a below-par overall performance, Sheffield Utd need to be much sharper and aggressive if want to get something here against tougher opposition.
Middlesbrough though have had over a week to prepare for this game after small defensive errors denied them a draw against Sunderland, but if they bring the same quality and tighter defending then they certainly can cause issues if the Blades don’t step up their intensity.
I personally think that this game could go either way but Sheffield Utd should at least dig out a draw.
Prediction: Sheffield United 1-1 Middlesbrough
Result: Sheffield United 3-1 Middlesbrough
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