Sheffield United travel to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday evening knowing that another defeat could confirm their relegation from the Premier League this weekend.

The Blades are 18 points adrift and it will be mathematically impossible for them to escape the drop should they lose at Molineux and Newcastle United beat West Ham United.

Match preview

It has been a disastrous campaign for the Yorkshire side, coming on the back of what was one of the most memorable seasons in their history last time out.

They may have improved slightly in the second half of the season to avoid the unwanted record low Premier League points tally, but they are going down with a whimper.

United, now under the management of Paul Heckingbottom after Chris Wilder departed last month, have lost their last four games in a row, conceding 12 and scoring just once.

The most recent of those defeats came at home to Arsenal on Sunday evening, with Alexandre Lacazette scoring twice either side of Gabriel Martinelli's strike at Bramall Lane.

The Blades have been even worse on their travels, collecting just four points from a possible 45 and scoring only seven times.

This is a match that Wolves will clearly be targeting all three points from, then, as they look to record back-to-back wins in the league for just the third time this term.

That says an awful lot about just how inconsistent Nuno Espirito Santo's men have been, with a bottom-half finish looking increasingly likely.

Wolves may have edged out Fulham 1-0 last time out through a late Adama Traore goal, but they are positioned 12th in the table and are seven points off 10th-placed Leeds United.

The win at Craven Cottage ended a five-game wait for three points, but at home they have lost back-to-back matches against Liverpool and West Ham.

Not since November 2018 have Wolves lost three league games in a row at Molineux, though, and they also have a good record against Saturday's opponents.

Wolves have lost just one of their last 13 home games with United and are unbeaten in seven against them at Molineux, a run stretching back to October 2002.

Team News

Wolves were dealt a blow this week with the news that Pedro Neto will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury, which will also rule him out of Portugal's Euro 2020 campaign.

The hosts are also without Ruben Neves after he tested positive for coronavirus, while Raul Jimenez remains a long-term absentee with a head injury suffered in November.

Joao Moutinho returned from injury against Fulham and could come into the starting XI here, however, and Willy Boly may also be back after serving a period of self-isolation.

After a run of 35 Premier League games without a goal or assist, Traore has either scored (one) or assisted (one) a goal in his last two appearances.

As for the visitors, Jayden Bogle and George Baldock were included in the squad to face Arsenal, despite suffering from suspected concussion against Leeds the previous weekend.

Heckingbottom remains without a number of other key players, though, including the likes of Chris Basham, Jack O'Connell, Jack Robinson and Sander Berge.

Billy Sharp was this week ruled out for the rest of the season, meanwhile, and Oli McBurnie injured his foot against Arsenal and is out for the season.

Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Patricio; Saiss, Coady, Kilman; Semedo, Moutinho, Dendoncker, Ait-Nouri; Podence; Traore, Willian Jose

Sheffield United possible starting lineup:
Ramsdale; Ampadu, Egan, Stevens; Baldock, Lundstram, Norwood, Fleck, Osborn; McGoldrick, Brewster

We say: Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0 Sheffield United

Wolves beat United 2-0 in September's reverse match and are seeking their first league double in this fixture since the 2013-14 League One campaign.

Nuno's men have been incredibly inconsistent this term, but we can see them picking up rare back-to-back wins against a side whose relegation fate could be sealed this weekend.

Video prediction

Watch the Sports Mole Football Shorts prediction for this game below:

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