Sheffield United vs Sheffield Wednesday – News and Probable Lineups

Sheffield United will host rivals Sheffield Wednesday at Bramall Lane this Sunday for the second Steel City Derby of the season.

The home team aims for a fourth consecutive derby victory to reduce their gap to the playoff spots in the Championship, having secured a 3-0 win in the previous meeting, while a defeat would seal the visitors’ relegation, unless Saturday’s results had already done so.

Match overview

Heading into the weekend, Sheffield United is looking to achieve a second consecutive double over their city rivals and continue their ascent in the Championship standings.

After a challenging start to their second season back in the Championship following last year’s playoff final loss, the Blades finally started to turn things around by defeating Sheffield Wednesday 3-0 at Hillsborough back in November.

This victory is part of a total of 10 wins that Chris Wilder’s team has achieved in their last 17 league encounters, collecting 32 points during this period and moving up to 15th place, with a total of 42 points from 32 matches.

Following an unbeaten run coming to an end with a home loss against second-placed Middlesbrough, the Blades faced Portsmouth last weekend and were on the verge of a scoreless draw until Andre Brooks scored a last-minute winner to secure all three points.

Currently sitting in 15th place, despite their rough start, Sheffield United trails the playoff positions by only six points with 14 matches remaining, and they will aim to achieve four straight Steel City Derby wins to strengthen their hopes for a playoff challenge and climb towards the higher ranks.

Meanwhile, their counterparts will make the journey across the city, hoping to rectify the derby loss from November and avoid succumbing to relegation at the hands of their rivals.

Sheffield Wednesday appears to be on the verge of confirming their relegation to League One following a dismal season, entering with a limited squad and going into administration in October, resulting in a total of an 18-point deduction.

With just one victory from their 32 matches and suffering 23 defeats, the Owls sit at the bottom of the table with -7 points, 35 points behind 23rd place and 41 points away from safety, having lost their last nine league matches since New Year’s Day.

After failing to score in the first eight of those fixtures, Henrik Pedersen’s team played against Millwall last weekend, initially taking the lead through Jamal Lowe, only to be pegged back by an own goal in the 72nd minute, followed quickly by Macaulay Langstaff scoring the decisive goal for the visitors.

At this point, on the brink of an inevitable drop to the third tier, a loss on Sunday would confirm their relegation unless it is determined by prior results on Saturday, but Sheffield Wednesday will at least aim to stave off the drop and reclaim Steel City bragging rights with their first derby victory since February 2012.

Team News

Sheffield United will be without suspended midfielder Joe Rothwell, who received a red card on his debut off the bench against Middlesbrough, while Sam McCallum and Tom Davies remain sidelined due to injuries.

Chris Wilder is likely to field a similar starting XI to last weekend’s victory at Portsmouth, though Sydie Peck and Jairo Riedewald will both be vying to join Manchester City loanee Kalvin Phillips in the midfield, with Riedewald having returned to fitness after an injury layoff.

Patrick Bamford is expected to lead the attack once again, supported by Andre Brooks, who has netted four goals in the last five games, as well as Tom Cannon, Gustavo Hamer, Callum O’Hare, and Tyrese Campbell all competing for offensive roles around him.

On the other hand, Sheffield Wednesday continues to struggle with injuries, as Pierce Charles, Di’Shon Bernard, Ernie Weaver, Dominic Iorfa, Max Lowe, Nathaniel Chalobah, and Sean Fusire are all set to miss out once again.

Goalkeeper Murphy Cooper has recently joined the injury list, prompting the Owls to bring in emergency loanee Seny Dieng for Sunday’s fixture, making him their seventh goalkeeper to take the field in the Championship this season.

Jamal Lowe and Jerry Yates will both look to retain their places up front, with the former having recently broken the goal drought for the team, while Liam Cooper is set to return to the starting defence.

Sheffield United probable starting XI

Cooper; Seriki, Tanganga, Bindon, Burrows; Phillips, Peck; Brooks, O’Hare, Hamer; Bamford

Sheffield Wednesday probable starting XI

Dieng; Palmer, Otegbayo, Cooper, Adaramola; Ingelson, Heskey; McNeill, Lowe, Kobacki; Yates

Although derbies like the Steel City rivalry can often be tight matches that may not reflect the quality of both sides, we anticipate Sheffield United to comfortably secure another win against their beleaguered neighbors on Sunday, as they did at Hillsborough late last year.