Sheffield United take on Norwich City this weekend, aiming to strengthen their push for promotion back to the Premier League next season.
Both sides head into the clash eager to respond after suffering disappointing exits in the FA Cup third round last time out.
Match preview
The Blades were dumped out the cup by Championship strugglers Cardiff City and will now turn their attention back to their league form, with Chris Wilder's side currently third in the table and only outside of the automatic promotion spots on goal difference.
Having been relegated from the Premier League in last place last season, the hosts look like strong contenders for an instant return to the top division.
A key factor in their success this season has been their solid defence, that has only conceded 17 times in 26 outings - a record only bettered by Burnley.
Wilder's men have performed well for most of the campaign, but their home form has taken a slight dip from their very high standards in recent weeks.
Including last week's cup defeat to Cardiff, Sheffield United have failed to win any of their last three games at Bramall Lane, a venue they were unbeaten at this season, until promotion rivals Burnley beat them 2-0 on Boxing Day.
Despite this, they still have one of the strongest home records in the Championship, with that defeat to the Clarets remaining their only home loss in the league so far this campaign.
Therefore, they will be confident of getting back to winning ways this weekend against a Norwich side that have only won three times on the road in the league all season.
Heading into the weekend, the visitors sit in 11th position in the Championship table, just five points off the playoff places, therefore a win could take them even closer to those currently occupying the playoff positions.
The visitors come into this fixture with the third-strongest attack in the division, with 43 goals in 26 matches in the league, but they have struggled to keep goals out at the other end of the pitch, having conceded 37 goals so far in the league.
Their defensive frailty was on show last weekend, as they lost 4-0 away to Premier League outfit Brighton & Hove Albion in the third round of the FA Cup.
Although Norwich's away record is far from the worst in the division, with six losses on the road so far this campaign, they will have to be at their best this weekend if they want to extend their four-match unbeaten run in the league.
Johannes Hoff Thorup's side did manage to get a point in the reverse fixture back in August, proving they are capable of taking something from the Blades - although Norwich have performed significantly better at home this season, gaining 10 more points from their matches at Carrow Road than on their travels.
The task of getting a win this weekend has been made even tougher due to the recent suspension of the Championship's top scorer, Borja Sainz, who was recently handed a six-match ban after spitting at Sunderland's Chris Mepham in December.
Team News
The hosts have several injury concerns ahead of the game, with Gustavo Hamer (muscle), Jesurun Rak-Sakyi (muscle), Femi Seriki (calf) and Oliver Arblaster (knee) among the many ruled out of this fixture.
In further bad news for the hosts, Tyrese Campbell (back), Harry Souttar (ankle) and Vinicius Souza are all expected to miss the clash, while Kieffer Moore is a doubt due to illness.
Elsewhere, Sai Sachdev is still continuing his recovery from a broken leg suffered earlier in the campaign.
With the visitors missing star man Sainz due to suspension, their attack is looking rather depleted, with Josh Sargent also expected to be out until the end of the month with a groin injury.
New signing Matej Jurasek will play no part at Bramall Lane and is unlikely to be registered with his new team until next month, while Grant Hanley is closing in on a switch to Birmingham City.
Meanwhile, Anis Ben Slimane (leg), Christian Fassnacht (leg), Liam Gibbs (hamstring) and Gabe Forsyth (knee) are also not expected back until the end of the month.
Sheffield United possible starting lineup:
Cooper; Burrows, Ahmedhodzic, Robinson, Gilchrist; Davies, O'Hare, Peck, Brooks; Brewster, One
Norwich City possible starting lineup:
Gunn; Chrisene, Doyle, Duffy, Fisher; McLean, Nunez, Crnac; Schwartau, Dobbin, Marcondes
We say: Sheffield United 2-0 Norwich City
Norwich are missing some key players in their attack this weekend, so we think that the hosts will win relatively comfortably against the Canaries.
The Blades need to continue their push for promotion and we fancy them to do that against a Norwich side that have only kept four clean sheets in the league all season.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
body check tags ::
Previews by email
