Norwich City vs Sheffield United – Preview | OneFootball

Sheffield United entertain Norwich City at Carrow Road on Wednesday evening in the Sky Bet Championship.

After sitting down near at the bottom of the table for much of the campaign, the Canaries have picked up some form right when they needed it the most. They have won seven of their last nine games which now sees them ten points above the drop zone. Norwich were involved in FA Cup action last weekend where they lost 3-0 away at Leeds United.

The Blades left Bramall Lane feeling frustrated last Saturday when they had a golden opportunity to build some momentum against a struggling West Bromwich Albion side, but they squandered a lead in the final ten minutes, leaving them eight points behind the top six.

Team News

Norwich have several players who could miss the game against the Blades. Ante Crnac, Oscar Schwartau and Matej Jurasek are some of the attacking outlets that are suffering with injuries. Mirko Topic, Pelle Mattsson and Harry Amass also have issues.

Chris Wilder told the media after the West Brom game that Patrick Bamford was substituted off at half-time due to a dead leg, so he will continue to be monitored ahead of the midweek fixture. Sam McCallum and Tom Davies remain sidelined, while Gustavo Hamer will serve a two-game ban due to an accumulation of yellow cards.

Norwich City’s Impact Player For This Game

With the amount of players Norwich City have currently injured, there are limited options that stand out at this moment. With Josh Sargeant now at Toronto FC and with Jovon Makama struggling with a foot problem, that alone is 20 goal contributions erased from the Canaries out of a total of 47 goals scored in the league.

The next closest is Mathias Kvistgaarden with seven goals. The Danish striker is one of the remaining fit attacking outlets they have, but due to his own injury troubles earlier in the season he’s only started five times in the league, but that may change on Wednesday night.

The 23-year-old has been a handful when he has featured though, he averages two shots on target per game and 0.5 non-penalty expected goals per game, so he is a big threat if he gets supplied. In terms of duels, the Dane averages over six duels won per game with almost three of those being aerial duels, so Japhet Tanganga and Tyler Bindon will have a battle on their hands if they came up against Kvistgaarden.

Sheffield United’s Impact Player For This Game

It was a below par attacking display for the Blades last weekend, and with the firepower at their disposal you can’t imagine them having back-to-back flat performances. One man that could provide some extra added juice is actually the 23-year-old right-back Femi Seriki.

After having a slight rest from the starting eleven, Seriki could be reinstated back into the team to link up with Andre Brooks down the right once more. While Ki-Jana Hoever is a solid back-up, Seriki and Brooks have been an unstoppable force down the right for the Blades and their understanding has been by far one of the biggest strengths to Wilder’s side.

Whenever he steps onto the pitch it’s almost a certainty that Seriki is the most athletic player; he is extremely quick and powerful, and his agility makes him a very effective dribbler. He averages almost two successful dribbles per game, and these are often completed deep into the final third where he darts to the byline and drills in a low cross. Seriki averages almost 1.5 chances created per game, which is exceptional for a right-back who doesn’t take set pieces.

My Prediction

The last time these two sides met it ended one-all, but Norwich had a golden opportunity to pinch all three points in the dying moments if it wasn’t for a superb stop from Michael Cooper. Of course, Cooper is currently injured so Adam Davies will be the shot stopper for this reverse fixture.

I think the 1-1 at Bramall Lane earlier this season will be repeated here, and that will not offer much help to Sheffield United’s hopes of a late surge into the play-offs.

Stats taken from Fotmob and Opta.