Plymouth Argyle vs Sheffield United – Preview | OneFootball

After two poor performances and results, Sheffield United will take a long trip down to Devon to face the Championship’s bottom club, Plymouth Argyle.

Within the past week the Blades have incredibly gone from top of the league with a two-point cushion to third, to now sitting in third and two points off both Leeds United and Burnley.

A very poor showing in front of goal saw them fall to a 1-0 defeat against Millwall at Bramall Lane. The Lions copied the tactics of Oxford United who also beat the Blades a few days prior. With United’s last two opponents deploying a low block and hitting them on the counter, you’d expect Plymouth Argyle to do the same.

Plymouth were well-beaten in midweek, losing 3-0 to mid-table Swansea City, albeit away from home. However, their home form before a recent 2-1 victory against Norwich City is concerning; they conceded three goals in their two previous defeats (3-2 against Derby County, and 3-0 against Sheffield Wednesday).

Team News

Argyle have been dealing without Brendan Galloway and Maksym Talovierov for the past couple of months, as the duo have been ruled out for the season.

There are no fresh injury news for Sheffield United, and it remains to be seen whether Tom Davies and Harry Clarke are in fact ready enough to be on the bench at Plymouth.

Plymouth Argyle’s Impact Player For This Game

SWANSEA, WALES – APRIL 09: Mustapha Bundu of Plymouth battle for the ball with Ben Cabango of Swansea during the Sky Bet Championship match between Swansea City AFC and Plymouth Argyle FC at Swansea.com Stadium on April 09, 2025 in Swansea, Wales. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)

Given the likelihood of the home side taking a leaf out of Oxford and Millwall’s book against the Blades, pace and power could well be the order of the day for Plymouth on Saturday.

United have pushed bodies forward in the last couple of games, but because they’ve lacked invention around the box, attacks have broken down too easily, and as a result, the opposition have been able to break on them.

Someone like Mustapha Bundu will thrive on these types of opportunities, especially if he is left isolated against Jack Robinson, who lacks recovery pace. The 28-year-old has been deployed as a wide forward for the majority of the campaign, but he’s also capable of playing down the middle. He’s managed to net six goals and provide five assists.

As a forward, Bundu has surprisingly been one of the better creators in the Championship, ranking in the 94th percentile for key passes, and 85th percentile for shot-creating actions.

Another thing that stands out is his defensive numbers. Evidently, he has a very good work rate and loves to press defenders and holding midfielders that drop deep to receive the ball, so the Blades require far more composure than they’ve shown recently.

Bundu ranks in the bottom ten percentile for total shots per game, however, when he does shoot he is one of the most accurate forwards in the Championship.

Sheffield United’s Impact Player For This Game

SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 01: Callum O’Hare of Sheffield United and Tom Dele-Bashiru of Watford compete for the ball during the Sky Bet Championship match between Sheffield United FC and Watford FC at Bramall Lane on September 01, 2024 in Sheffield, England. (Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)

Sheffield United seriously need a win down at Home Park or else they’re at huge risk of undoing all their hard work throughout the campaign in this three-game week.

Chris Wilder started this three-game week off by hinting at making changes due to the number of matches in a short space of time. In hindsight, perhaps he should’ve done this; the Blades have lacked energy on the counter, the midfielders look burnt out mentally, and other than Jesurun Rak-Sakyi in the second half against Millwall, I don’t think anyone has looked anywhere near threatening. This has to change on Saturday.

I want to see Callum O’Hare back in the starting eleven, and Rak-Sakyi and Vinicius Souza for that matter. It’s fair to say O’Hare is not everybody’s cup of tea, judging by social media comments throughout the season, but the fact is the Blades look far more energetic and press much better whenever he’s in the side.

Statistically, compared to other Championship attacking midfielders and wingers, he doesn’t stand out. But, if there was a metric that could quantify how his energy and work rate, and always showing for the ball in the pocket, he’d be right up there as one of the best in the league in that regard.

I believe that O’Hare would be a solution to United’s current issues because we have someone that is always an option on the ball around the number ten position. It also allows Gustavo Hamer to link up with someone he knows better than anybody else in the team, as it’s obvious at this point that Wilder will not be moving Hamer away from that inverted left-winger role.

My Prediction

While Plymouth are rock bottom of the league, and are the worst creative team in the league, creating a mere 33xG thus far, they are the best team in the entire division in terms of goals vs expected goals (8.32). Essentially, for those that may not understand what that means, they’ve scored almost eight and a half more goals than they’ve been expected to score, outperforming their low quality of chances.

Given how clinical both Oxford and Millwall were against the Blades, this may give Argyle the confidence they need to get something out of this one.

Realistically, if the Blades do not even register a goal in this one then serious questions must be asked of both the coaching staff and players. In two of Plymouth’s last three home games, they have conceded three goals, against Derby County and Sheffield Wednesday, two teams that are far worse than United on paper. Plus, they’re coming into this one off the back of a 3-0 defeat away at Swansea City.

Reluctantly, I’m picking Sheffield United to win this one 2-0, but that’s more down to Plymouth’s poor defence of late rather than my confidence in the Blades’ attack.

Stats taken from FBref and Opta.