Sports Mole previews Monday’s Championship clash between Sheffield United and Bristol City, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Sheffield United will look to back up Thursday’s commanding win at Ashton Gate when they welcome Bristol City to Bramall Lane for Monday’s Championship playoff semi-final second leg.
The Blades have one foot in the final after claiming a 3-0 victory in the first leg, leaving the Robins with it all to do if they are to reach Wembley.
Match preview
© Imago
Sheffield United had to settle for third place in the Championship table despite racking up 90 points from their 46 league matches.
A poor run of form that saw them lose four times in five matches caused them to fall short of Burnley and Leeds United in the race for automatic promotion.
However, they at least recovered from their flurry of losses to take four points from their final two league games, before they made it three matches without defeat with a commanding 3-0 victory in Thursday’s semi-final first leg against Bristol City at Ashton Gate.
Harrison Burrows opened the scoring in first-half stoppage time after Rob Dickie had been penalised and sent off for fouling Kieffer Moore in the box, before Andre Brooks and Callum O’Hare grabbed a goal apiece in the second period to put the Blades in a strong positon to set up a Wembley date against either Sunderland or Coventry City.
The first-leg victory extended Sheffield United’s unbeaten streak in meetings with Bristol City to eight competitive matches (W6, D2), while it also represented their third consecutive head-to-head away victory.
The Blades will fancy their chances of extending that record on Monday, having lost just four of their 23 Championship home games this season, including one defeat in their previous six outings at Bramall Lane (W3, D2).
© Imago
Bristol City won 17, drew 17 and lost 12 of their 46 Championship matches to seal a playoff place for the first time since 2007-08.
Liam Manning‘s side secured a top-six finish despite experiencing a frustrating end to the season, losing back-to-back away games against Luton Town and Leeds United, before playing out a 2-2 home draw against Preston North End.
Unfortunately for Bristol City, their winless run extended to four matches in Thursday’s heavy 3-0 defeat to Sheffield United, bringing an end to their eight-game unbeaten home run and denting their aspirations of playing top-flight football for the first time in 45 years.
Their hopes of mounting a dramatic fightback in the second leg will be tempered by the fact that they have won just one of their previous 15 Championship away games (D7, L7), including three defeats in their last five road trips.
They have also not beaten Sheffield United at Bramall Lane since coming from 2-1 down to record a 3-2 victory in March 2019.
Bristol City last recorded a victory by three goals more in December’s 3-0 home over Portsmouth, while their last competitive away win by a three-goal margin took place in December 2023 when they swept past Watford via a 4-1 scoreline.
Sheffield United Championship form:
Bristol City Championship form:
Team News
© Imago
Sheffield United are unable to call upon Ollie Arblaster and Rhys Norrington-Davies, while Harry Clarke returned to his parent club Ipswich Town last month due to a foot injury.
However, Wilder has revealed that Femi Seriki, Ben Brereton Diaz and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi are all available for selection after sitting out the first leg.
The Sheffield United boss is likely to keep changes to a minimum, although O’Hare is pushing for a recall after coming off the bench to score the final goal in Thursday’s 3-0 victory.
As for the visitors, they remain without Ayman Benarous, Luke McNally and Mark Sykes, while Joe Williams is unlikely to feature after he was forced off in the first half on Thursday with an ankle injury.
Williams’s potential absence could see Max Bird drop back into central midfield, allowing George Earthy to come into the side to operate in one of the two number 10 roles.
Haydon Roberts is one of the candidates to replace Dickie in the back three, with the 29-year-old suspended following his dismissal in the first leg.
Sheffield United possible starting lineup:
Cooper; Choudhury, Ahmedhodzic, Robinson, Burrows; O’Hare, Peck, Vini Souza, Hamer; Moore, Campbell
Bristol City possible starting lineup:
O’Leary; Tanner, Vyner, Roberts; Hirakawa, Knight, Bird, McCrorie; Earthy, Mehmeti; Wells
We say: Sheffield United 2-1 Bristol City
Bristol City will travel to Bramall Lane with hopes of staging an unlikely comeback in the second leg, however, we think the hosts will produce a professional performance to back up Thursday’s win with a narrow victory over a team that tends to struggle on the road.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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