Bramall Lane will play host to a key contest at the top end of the Championship table on Friday, as Sheffield United welcome Sunderland.
The hosts sit second in the division after a return to winning ways on Tuesday, while their visitors are two points behind having drawn each of their last five outings.
Match preview
Sheffield United head back to Bramall Lane on Friday aiming to build a lead at the top of the Championship table at the beginning of the latest round of fixtures, having put a strong unbeaten run together either side of the November international break.
After suffering their only two league defeats of the season thus far consecutively in mid-October, the Blades have won five and drawn one of their last six outings, heading into the latest break on the back of four straight victories culminating in a 1-0 Steel City Derby triumph over rivals Sheffield Wednesday.
Chris Wilder's men faced a trip to Coventry City on their return to action last Saturday and left with a point from a 2-2 draw thanks to first-half goals from Tyrese Campbell and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, before quickly bouncing back to winning ways at home to Oxford United on Tuesday as Callum O'Hare, Campbell and Rak-Sakyi got on the scoresheet in a 3-0 triumph.
That extended an eye-catching run for the Blades on home turf, having won each of their last seven games at Bramall Lane without conceding, while only Burnley have conceded fewer than the nine goals that Wilder's men have allowed in their 17 games in total, netting 24 goals at the other end along the way.
Now sitting second in their bid for promotion back to the Premier League on 35 points and only trailing leaders Leeds United on goal difference, despite beginning with a two-point deduction, Sheffield United will look to build a lead over the chasing pack with an eighth straight home win on Friday.
They face a tough test, though, as the visitors travel to South Yorkshire aiming to leapfrog the Blades and extend their own 10-game unbeaten streak in England's second tier.
Sunderland have enjoyed an impressive start to the 2024-25 Championship campaign following the summer appointment of Regis Le Bris, amassing 33 points from their first 17 outings having picked up nine victories and only suffering two defeats.
The most recent of those losses came in late September, although the Black Cats' 10-match unbeaten run since does include their first six draws of the campaign, including five consecutively heading into Saturday's trip, initially heading into the recent break on the back of stalemates with Queens Park Rangers, Preston North End and Coventry City.
A trip to Millwall followed on their return, and Le Bris's side had to settle for a point from a 1-1 draw following Femi Azeez's injury-time leveller for their hosts after Aaron Connolly had them 1-0 up, before they most recently hosted fellow promotion-chasers West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday and again shared the spoils as neither side managed to break the deadlock.
Now boasting the league's longest undefeated run but having fallen off top spot as a result of their failure to get over the line in recent games, Sunderland will be keen to bounce back to winning ways and return to the summit of the Championship on Friday.
Team News
Chris Wilder should field a similar Sheffield United starting XI from Tuesday's 3-0 victory, with defender Anel Ahmedhodzic remaining suspended and midfielder Oliver Arblaster and attackers Kieffer Moore and Rhian Brewster sidelined by injury issues.
In Arblaster's absence, Sydie Peck should again partner Vinicius Souza in the engine room, while captain Jack Robinson will continue to join Harry Souttar at the heart of a back four in Ahmedhodzic's place.
Tyrese Campbell will lead the line with confidence having netted five goals in his last six games, likely with support from Gustavo Hamer, Callum O'Hare and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, who has also scored in back-to-back games.
Sunderland continue to deal with a long injury list of their own heading into Friday's trip, with Romaine Mundle, Alan Browne, Ian Poveda, Niall Huggins, Dennis Cirkin and Jenson Seelt all set to miss out again.
Luke O'Nien, Chris Mepham, Dan Ballard and Trai Hume will line up in an unaltered back four after their midweek clean sheet, while Dan Neil and Jobe Bellingham will continue to partner up in the midfield.
Wilson Isidor, who leads the squad with five goals so far this season, will spearhead the attack with support from Patrick Roberts and either Eliezer Mayenda or Tom Watson either side of 17-year-old Chris Rigg.
Sheffield United possible starting lineup:
Cooper; Seriki, Souttar, Robinson, Burrows; Peck, Souza; Rak-Sakyi, O'Hare, Hamer; Campbell
Sunderland possible starting lineup:
Patterson; O'Nien, Mepham, Ballard, Hume; Bellingham, Neil; Roberts, Rigg, Mayenda; Isidor
We say: Sheffield United 1-0 Sunderland
Given the hosts' tight defensive record, particularly at Bramall Lane, and the visitors recent run of results, we can only envisage a low-scoring and hard-fought contest on Friday.
The Blades do arguably boast more attacking threat in their available ranks and will back themselves to find a decisive goal to go back to the top of the table.
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