On Saturday, 30th March, as part of the 30th round of the Premier League, Sheffield United will host Fulham on their turf. Three weeks ago, "the Blades" nobly held Bournemouth to a 2:2 draw on the opponent's field, while "The Cottagers" tore Tottenham to shreds at their home ground with a 3:0 winning score.
This match will take place in Sheffield at the Brammel Lane Stadium.
This season, "Sheffield United" finds itself in a very precarious situation, occupying the bottom spot of the Premier league's table and holding just 14 points in 28 matches. For the team, avoiding relegation will be a challenging feat (they are 8 points adrift from Luton, settled at the 17th spot). Following their victory over the "Hatters" with a 1:3 score, the red and black team lost consecutively to "Brighton" (0:5), "Wolverhampton" (1:0), and "Arsenal" (0:6), before managing a draw against "Bournemouth" (2:2). The Blades led 2:0 with goals by Gustavo Hamer and Jack Robinson, even as Dango Wattara narrowed the lead and Enes Unal restored parity. The team has registered 24 goals and conceded 74 – the worst record in the league this season. Moreover, Sheffield has, at home, set a dubious record for the English league, having conceded at least five goals in each of their last four matches at Brammel Lane across all tournaments!
Sheffield United will be without their primary striker Archer, defenders Bashem and Egan, and Norrington-Davis, Lowe, Slimani, Brewster, and Jebbison. On the flip side, central defender Mason Holgate, who joined the club this winter, has served his suspension and will be back in the starting line-up. Up front, we are certain to see Chilean Brereton Dias (2 goals in 4 matches), who played against the French national team during the international break. All in all, team coach Chris Wilder is unlikely to make significant changes to the starting line-up compared to the last round, although Vinisius Sousa may edge out Tom Davis.
Currently, Fulham is placed 12th in the Premier League and is likely to end the season without any ambitious objectives. Despite this, the Londoners still remain a tough nut to crack for any rival as they have managed to win 4 out of their last 6 championship games, losing on only two occasions. Notably, towards the end of February, they beat Manchester United at Old Trafford with a score of 1:2. After a loss to Wolverhampton (2:1), they thrashed "ottenham at home (3:0) thanks to a brace from Rodrigo Munis – his sixth and seventh goals in the last eight Premier League rounds – and a goal from Sasha Lukic. Nevertheless, it is important to note that the Marco Silva-managed team has clinched only one victory in their previous 13 away duels, accumulating 10 points in 14 matches – the third-worst record in the league. The coaching staff of the London club can count on the optimal team composition this weekend, as Mexican Raul Jimenez (5 goals in 20 matches) made his return in the last round.
During his absence, Brazilian forward Rodrigo Munis took full advantage of the opportunity and is expected to retain his spot in the starting eleven this weekend. Playmaker Andreas Pereira (1 goal and 6 assists) was called up to the Brazilian national team during the international break and will reappear in the centre of the field, whilst Lukic will compete with Tom Cairney and Harrison Reid for the right to accompany Joao Palhinha in midfield.
This season, "Sheffield United" lost 3:1 at the Craven Cottage. A victory at the Brammel Lane this weekend will allow "Fulham" to achieve a double over "the Blades" in the same season for the first time in their history.
The first international break of 2024 has undoubtedly been beneficial for Sheffield, whereas Fulham managed to maintain their excellent form in March. Nevertheless, the recent home failures of "the Blades" are a matter of enormous concern, and their defensive problems haven't disappeared either. I can't see the red and blacks taking any points from the far more skillful "Cottagers".
# | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | G | PTS | |
1 | Manchester City | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 9:2 | 9 | |
2 | Liverpool | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7:0 | 9 | |
3 | Brighton | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 6:2 | 7 | |
4 | Arsenal | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 5:1 | 7 | |
5 | Newcastle | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4:2 | 7 | |
6 | Brentford | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5:4 | 6 | |
7 | Aston Villa | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4:4 | 6 | |
8 | Bournemouth | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5:4 | 5 | |
9 | Nottingham | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3:2 | 5 | |
10 | Tottenham | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6:3 | 4 | |
11 | Chelsea | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7:5 | 4 | |
12 | Fulham | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3:3 | 4 | |
13 | West Ham | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -1 | 4:5 | 3 | |
14 | Manchester Utd | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -3 | 2:5 | 3 | |
15 | Leicester | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -2 | 3:5 | 1 | |
16 | Crystal Palace | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -3 | 2:5 | 1 | |
17 | Ipswich | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -5 | 2:7 | 1 | |
18 | Wolves | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -6 | 3:9 | 1 | |
19 | Southampton | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -4 | 1:5 | 0 | |
20 | Everton | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -8 | 2:10 | 0 | |
1 | Newcastle | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3:1 | 6 | |
2 | Brentford | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5:2 | 6 | |
3 | Arsenal | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3:1 | 4 | |
4 | Manchester City | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4:1 | 3 | |
5 | Liverpool | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2:0 | 3 | |
6 | Brighton | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2:1 | 3 | |
7 | Tottenham | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4:0 | 3 | |
8 | Fulham | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2:1 | 3 | |
9 | Manchester Utd | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1:3 | 3 | |
10 | Nottingham | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2:2 | 2 | |
11 | Bournemouth | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1:1 | 1 | |
12 | Chelsea | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1:3 | 1 | |
13 | Leicester | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2:3 | 1 | |
14 | Ipswich | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1:3 | 1 | |
15 | Aston Villa | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0:2 | 0 | |
16 | West Ham | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2:5 | 0 | |
17 | Crystal Palace | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0:2 | 0 | |
18 | Wolves | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2:6 | 0 | |
19 | Southampton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0:1 | 0 | |
20 | Everton | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2:6 | 0 | |
1 | Manchester City | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5:1 | 6 | |
2 | Liverpool | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5:0 | 6 | |
3 | Aston Villa | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4:2 | 6 | |
4 | Brighton | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4:1 | 4 | |
5 | Bournemouth | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4:3 | 4 | |
6 | Arsenal | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2:0 | 3 | |
7 | Nottingham | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1:0 | 3 | |
8 | Chelsea | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6:2 | 3 | |
9 | West Ham | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2:0 | 3 | |
10 | Newcastle | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1:1 | 1 | |
11 | Tottenham | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2:3 | 1 | |
12 | Fulham | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1:2 | 1 | |
13 | Crystal Palace | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2:3 | 1 | |
14 | Wolves | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1:3 | 1 | |
15 | Brentford | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0:2 | 0 | |
16 | Manchester Utd | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1:2 | 0 | |
17 | Leicester | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1:2 | 0 | |
18 | Ipswich | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1:4 | 0 | |
19 | Southampton | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1:4 | 0 | |
20 | Everton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0:4 | 0 |
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