Sheffield United will be bidding to strengthen their grip on second spot in the Championship table when they welcome Bristol City to Bramall Lane on Tuesday night.

The Blades are currently five points clear of third-placed Luton Town in the race for promotion, while Bristol City occupy 14th position, 10 points off the playoff positions and 11 points clear of the bottom three.

Match preview

Sheffield United can still mathematically win the Championship title this season, but that will not be in their minds at this stage, rather ensuring that they hold onto second position and secure automatic promotion.

The Blades will enter Tuesday's clash with Bristol City off the back of a 4-1 victory over Cardiff City on Saturday, with James McAtee, Jack Robinson, Iliman Ndiaye and Ciaran Clark on the scoresheet.

Paul Heckingbottom's side are five points clear of third-placed Luton with a game in hand, but it would be fair to say that they might be distracted heading into this match, with the club preparing to take on Manchester City in the semi-finals of the FA Cup this weekend.

Sheffield United's next three Championship matches are all at home, and they have picked up 42 points from their 20 league games in front of their own supporters this term.

The Blades were relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2020-21 campaign, and they lost in the semi-finals of the playoffs last term, but Heckingbottom's team are now in pole position to secure an automatic return to England's top flight for next term.

Bristol City, meanwhile, will enter this match off the back of a 2-0 loss to Watford on Saturday, which ended in a three-game unbeaten run in England's second tier.

Nigel Pearson's side sit 14th, 11 points clear of the relegation zone and 10 points off the playoffs, so it is incredibly likely that they will again play Championship football next term.

The Robins have spent each of the last eight seasons in the Championship since their promotion from League One, and they will be looking to improve on their 17th-place finish from the 2021-22 campaign.

Bristol City have found it difficult to show consistency on their travels this season, picking up 22 points from 21 matches, and they will be travelling to a Sheffield United side that have lost just four of their 20 league games in front of their own fans in 2022-23.

The Robins have not beaten Sheffield United since March 2019, meanwhile, and they suffered a 1-0 defeat in the corresponding match between the two sides earlier this season.

Team News

Sheffield United will again be without the services of Wesley Foderingham through suspension, which will mean another start between the sticks for Adam Davies.

The Blades will also be missing Ben Osborn, Enda Stevens, Rhian Brewster, Jack O'Connell and Rhys Norrington-Davies for the contest with Bristol City through injury.

Head coach Heckingbottom will need to assess the fitness of his players following the clash with Cardiff, but it would not be a surprise to see the same starting XI sent onto the field for this contest.

As for Bristol City, Joe Williams, Tomas Kalas, Rob Atkinson and Ayman Benarous will miss the match through injury.

Head coach Pearson is expected to make changes to the side that took to the field for the first whistle against Watford, with Alex Scott and Kallum Naismith likely to come into the XI.

There will be another start at centre-forward for Nahki Wells, though, with the 32-year-old finding the back of the net on 11 occasions in the Championship this term.

Sheffield United possible starting lineup:
Davies; Baldock, Egan, Robinson; Bogle, Berge, Doyle, Lowe; McAtee, McBurnie, Ndiaye

Bristol City possible starting lineup:
O'Leary; Tanner, Vyner, Pring, Dasilva; King, James; Cornick, Weimann, Bell; Wells

We say: Sheffield United 2-1 Bristol City

Sheffield United will fancy their chances of making it back-to-back wins in the Championship, and we are expecting the Blades to triumph here. It might be an uncomfortable match, but the home side should ultimately have too much quality for their opponents on Tuesday night.

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