Hoping to put an end to a three-game winless run, Championship leaders Sheffield United will welcome Blackpool to Bramall Lane on Saturday.

The Blades have picked up just one point from their three league outings since the recent international break, while their visitors arrive on the back of a confidence-boosting triumph over Watford.

Match preview

The recent international break may have come at a bad time for Sheffield United, who would not have wanted to see their momentum halted having put themselves at the top of the Championship with 23 points from the opening 10 outings.

Paul Heckingbottom's side headed into the break in a run of four straight wins, having beaten Reading, Hull City, Swansea City and Preston North End, and they would return to action with a home contest against Birmingham City, which was eventually drawn as Troy Deeney drew their visitors level after Oli McBurnie's 64th-minute opener.

After that result ended their perfect home record this season in England's second tier, the Blades would host Queens Park Rangers and suffer a first Bramall Lane defeat of the campaign, as Chris Willock's goal early in the second half proved to be the only difference between the sides, before they travelled to Stoke City last time out with the aim of returning to winning ways with a squad badly hit by injuries.

Rhian Brewster drew Heckingbottom's men level after Ben Wilmot's opener, only for Phil Jagielka to restore the hosts' lead in the final action of the first half, before Liam Delap put the game out of sight with Stoke's third goal in the dying embers.

Having only stayed at the summit of the division thanks to Preston North End's victory over second-placed Norwich City last weekend, Sheffield United will now be desperate to correct their form and put a first win on the board in four league outings to begin strengthening their spot in the lead.

They welcome a Blackpool side who will travel to South Yorkshire with renewed confidence after an impressive victory last time out.

The Tangerines experienced a slow start to the season under the new management of Michael Appleton, heading into the international break with 11 points from their opening 10 games, before returning to action at home to Norwich City and losing 1-0.

The Lancashire outfit then faced the tough test of a trip to Sunderland but managed to leave with a creditable point following a goalless draw before hosting promotion-chasing Watford in another difficult encounter last weekend.

The sides were level at a goal apiece going into the final 10 minutes at Bloomfield Road, as Gary Madine's early opener was cancelled out, before Jerry Yates sealed an eye-catching three-point haul with a late brace.

On the back of scoring their fourth league win of the season and climbing to 19th spot as a result, Appleton's men will look to take another big scalp on Saturday when they travel to take on the league leaders.

Team News

Sheffield United continue to deal with a long list of injuries, as George Baldock, Jayden Bogle and Sander Berge have recently joined the likes of Enda Stevens, Max Lowe, Jack O'Connell, Jack Robinson, Ciaran Clark and John Fleck in the treatment room.

Key defender Anel Ahmedhodzic may be fit to come back into the starting XI after his layoff, though, potentially allowing Heckingbottom to switch back to a back three with more options after only being able to field a new-look back four away at Stoke.

Oli McBurnie will also return to contention after serving a suspension last time out, having scored five goals in the previous seven league matches, and he will lead the line alongside Iliman Ndiaye with the likes of Reda Khadra, James McAtee, Rhian Brewster and Billy Sharp set to fight for the final attacking place.

Michael Appleton will likely deploy an unchanged Blackpool side for Saturday's trip after their win over Watford last time out, with Sonny Carey, Charlie Patino and Callum Wright again set to line up in midfield in a 4-3-3 setup.

Gary Madine will likely lead the line against the club he helped won promotion to the Premier League in the 2018-19 season with, having netted his first league goal of the season last weekend.

He will again be joined by Wolverhampton Wanderers and key attacker Jerry Yates, who took his tally to four league goals for the campaign with his brace in that triumph.

Sheffield United possible starting lineup:
Foderingham; Basham, Egan, Ahmedhodzic; Osborn, Norwood, Doyle, Norrington-Davies; Ndiaye, McBurnie, Khadra

Blackpool possible starting lineup:
Maxwell; Connolly, Ekpiteta, Thorniley, Thompson; Carey, Patino, Wright; Corbeanu, Madine, Yates

We say: Sheffield United 2-1 Blackpool

Sheffield United are far from their best with an unenviable list of key players missing, but with the return of McBurnie and the incentive of clinging on to top spot, the Blades should have just enough to scrape over the line and put their tough spell behind them.

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