SM
Man Utd vs. Chelsea: 22 hrs 7 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews
Collect News Data
SU
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


body check tags ::

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


amp_article__511212 : Collect and Make Data not in DataBase  : 
last updated article - 2024-06-05 13:11:00:
html db last update - 2024-06-05 13:11:00 :

ex - 7200 : read : write cache and make html
Read more!
Share this article now:


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!
Recommended Next on SM
Anel Ahmedhodzic: 'I'd like to play for Man City in the future'
Pain for Guardiola! Champions Man City shocked by Bournemouth at Vitality Stadium
The Porto plan: Real Madrid goalkeeper to be part of £67m swap?
A full team of changes? How Chelsea could line up against Man United
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Sunderland139222391429
2Leeds UnitedLeeds137512281426
3Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd138321661025
4Burnley126511751223
5Watford137152221122
6West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom13562148621
7Blackburn RoversBlackburn135441614219
8Bristol City134721717019
9Norwich CityNorwich134632318518
10Middlesbrough135351415-118
11Millwall124441512316
12Swansea CitySwansea13445109116
13Coventry CityCoventry134361717015
14Derby CountyDerby134361617-115
15Hull City133641517-215
16Stoke CityStoke134361518-315
17Cardiff CityCardiff134361319-615
18Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds134361524-915
19Oxford UnitedOxford Utd133551617-114
20Preston North EndPreston133551420-614
21Luton TownLuton133371521-612
22Plymouth ArgylePlymouth133371325-1212
23Queens Park RangersQPR131751119-810
24Portsmouth131661326-139
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

history www

Team News: Man Utd vs. Chelsea injury, suspension list, predicted XIs

1

TN

Slot at the summit: Liverpool top the table with comeback Brighton win

NEW

2

SA

"He had a lot of pain" - Slot addresses worrying injury for key player

NEW

3

&H

Preview: Fulham vs. Brentford - prediction, team news, lineups

NEW

4

PF

Team News: Barcelona vs. Espanyol injury, suspension list, predicted XIs

5

TN

Saturday's Premier League predictions including Newcastle vs. Arsenal

6

SP

Transfer blow: Chelsea 'suffer setback' in pursuit of Serie A star

7

TB

Real Madrid 'planning blockbuster move' for £109m-rated German superstar

8

RM

Saturday's Serie A predictions including Monza vs. AC Milan

9

SS

Preview: Dallas Mavericks vs. Orlando Magic - prediction, team news, form guide

10

PD


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .