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Championship | Gameweek 42
Apr 15, 2023 at 12.30pm UK
Bramall Lane
CC

Sheff Utd
4 - 1
Cardiff

McAtee (24'), Robinson (54'), Ndiaye (80'), Clark (85')
Lowe (17'), Berge (38'), Baldock (57')
FT(HT: 1-1)
Kaba (19' pen.)
Simpson (4'), O'Dowda (52')

Preview: Sheffield United vs. Cardiff City - prediction, team news, lineups

:Headline: Preview: Sheffield United vs. Cardiff City - prediction, team news, lineups:
Sports Mole previews Saturday's Championship clash between Sheffield United and Cardiff City, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Sports Mole

Sheffield United will welcome Cardiff City to Bramall Lane on Saturday for a game of major importance at both ends of the Championship table.

With six league games left to play, one more than the chasing pack, the hosts sit inside the automatic promotion spots with a five-point lead over third-placed Luton Town, while their visitors find themselves just a single point above the bottom three, albeit with a game in hand of their own.


Match preview

Having sat second in the Championship for almost the entirety of the campaign thus far, Sheffield United went into the Easter weekend double-header with a six-point lead over Middlesbrough and Luton Town and a game in hand over both, thanks to 22 wins and 73 points from their 38 league outings.

That included consecutive away league triumphs over Sunderland and Norwich City, either side of a 3-2 victory over Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup quarter final to punch their ticket to Wembley later in April, and the Blades strengthened their position in the top two and made it four wins on the bounce in all competitions as Iliman Ndiaye netted the only goal at home to basement side Wigan Athletic on Friday.

Paul Heckingbottom's men then faced the particularly difficult task of a trip to Burnley, who had sealed their confirmed their promotion to the Premier League on Friday, and after a tight start to the contest, the Blades' job was made even tougher when goalkeeper Wes Foderingham was sent off in the 17th minute for a foul just wide of his penalty area.

They stood strong with 10 men until the hour mark, but the league leaders eventually broke the deadlock through Johan Berg Gudmundsson, and he would net his second of the game 10 minutes later to ensure the South Yorkshire side returned home empty-handed.

While third-placed Luton Town did put an important victory on the board on Monday, the Blades do still come out of the Easter weekend with a five-point lead over the chasing Hatters and six games left to play compared to Luton's five, and they will hope to make a return to winning ways on Saturday and further build on that healthy advantage.

Their visitors arrive in the midst of a battle at the other end of England's second tier, as Cardiff City find themselves just above the bottom three heading into the final matches of the season.

On the back of defeats to Preston North End and rivals Swansea City, either side of a 1-1 draw with West Bromwich Albion, the Bluebirds went into the long weekend with 39 points on the board from 38 league outings, and like their upcoming opponents, they scored a crucial victory on Friday, beating fellow strugglers Blackpool 3-1 away from home courtesy of first-half goals from Connor Wickham, Sory Kaba and Joe Ralls.

That saw Sabri Lamouchi's side briefly climb to 19th place before a meeting with Sunderland in South Wales on Monday, but they were unable to make it back-to-back triumphs as Dennis Cirkin sealed all three points for the visitors with the only goal of the game on the hour mark.

Such a result meant the Welsh outfit quickly dropped back down to 21st spot, while their attacking record remains the worst in the division, with no other side having scored as few as the 33 goals they have managed thus far.

Now with just a single point between themselves and Reading in the drop zone and a crucial game in hand still to play, Cardiff City will aim to bounce back and take a major scalp on Saturday to avoid being dragged into the bottom three.

Sheffield United Championship form:


Sheffield United form (all competitions):


Cardiff City Championship form:


Team News

After Sheffield United goalkeeper Wes Foderingham was given his marching orders against Burnley, he will serve the first game of a suspension on Saturday, with Adam Davies set to deputise between the sticks from the outset, while left-backs Enda Stevens, Max Lowe and Rhys Norrington-Davies all remain unavailable for selection, meaning George Baldock should continue to fill in in an unfamiliar position on the left-hand side.

Jayden Bogle will again start on the opposite flank, with the back three of Anel Ahmedhodzic, John Egan and Jack Robinson bound to remain unchanged, while Heckingbottom is more likely to make an alteration in midfield with James McAtee expected to come back in alongside Tommy Doyle and Sander Berge in place of Oliver Norwood.

At the top end of the pitch, Oli McBurnie and Iliman Ndiaye should again lead the line, having each netted 13 goals in all competitions so far this season while Ndiaye also boasts seven Championship assists.

Cardiff City will likely remain without Callum O'Dowda and former Sheffield United man Callum Robinson through injuries, although Kion Etete has returned to full fitness and will fight to come back into the front line from the outset.

In Lamouchi's preferred 4-4-2 setup, the line should again be led by Sory Kaba, who has netted five goals in 11 Championship appearances since arriving on loan from FC Midtjylland in January.

Joe Ralls is also pushing to return to the starting XI after Romaine Sawyers and Ryan Wintle were preferred in midfield on Monday, while Lamouchi should deploy an unchanged back four featuring Perry Ng, Cedric Kipre, Mark McGuinness and Mahlon Romeo.

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

Cardiff City possible starting lineup:
Allsop; Ng, McGuinness, Kipre, Romeo; Philogene, Ralls, Wintle, Ojo; Kaba, Wickham


We say: Sheffield United 2-0 Cardiff City

With the chance to take another major step towards clinching automatic promotion against a Cardiff side struggling for form, we see the Blades being too strong on home turf and back them to come away with all three points.


For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.


Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 1.5:data


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Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Sunderland1594225111431
2Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd1510321971231
3Leeds UnitedLeeds158522491529
4Burnley157621861227
5West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom15672169725
6Watford158162322125
7Middlesbrough157352317624
8Millwall156541813523
9Blackburn RoversBlackburn156451917222
10Bristol City155732019122
11Swansea CitySwansea155461110119
12Derby CountyDerby155461919019
13Stoke CityStoke155461819-119
14Norwich CityNorwich154652322118
15Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds155371725-818
16Oxford UnitedOxford Utd154561718-117
17Coventry CityCoventry154472021-116
18Plymouth ArgylePlymouth154471526-1116
19Hull City153661620-415
20Preston North EndPreston153661523-815
21Luton TownLuton154381726-915
22Cardiff CityCardiff154381423-915
23Portsmouth152671628-1212
24Queens Park RangersQPR151771225-1310
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