Sheffield United vs Middlesbrough – Preview | OneFootball

Middlesbrough are the next team to entertain Sheffield United at Bramall Lane as the Blades look to make it three wins in a row, on Wednesday night.

United have picked up results in the last couple of games without performing well. This shows the character of the team to grind out wins, but it should be said that these wins came against poor opposition, and Portsmouth should’ve scored three or four last weekend before the Blades claimed a 2-1 win.

Middlesbrough are in terrible form, winning just once in their last four games whilst losing the other three. One of those losses came against United’s recent opponents Portsmouth. Boro then followed that up with a 2-0 win over West Bromwich Albion before losing their next two games and conceding at least two goals in the process.

This form now sees Michael Carrick’s team sit 20 points off the final automatic promotion place, occupied by the Blades.

Transfer Business

WEST BROMWICH, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 01: Michael Carrick, Manager of Middlesbrough, looks on during the Sky Bet Championship match between West Bromwich Albion FC and Middlesbrough FC at The Hawthorns on October 01, 2024 in West Bromwich, England. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)

It’s fair to say Boro did plenty of wheeling and dealing in the January transfer window, which could be a reason for their recent downturn in form. They sold their top scorer Emmanuel Latte Lath to Atlanta United for a huge fee, in addition to selling Isaiah Jones to Luton Town and Matt Clarke to Derby County.

In terms of incomings, Carrick brought in attacking left-back Ryan Giles on loan from Hull City, Morgan Whittaker from Plymouth Argyle, versatile defender George Edmundson from Ipswich Town, goalkeeper Mark Travers on loan from Bournemouth, and lastly the loan signings of two attackers, Samuel Iling Junior from Aston Villa and Kelechi Iheanacho on loan from Sevilla.

While I like a couple of the signings from Boro, I just feel like this is far too much activity for a January transfer window; you can unsettle a team too much. This sort of activity is all well and good in the summer because you have pre-season games, and even the first few games of the season, but doing this with just a quarter of the season remaining seems a huge risk. Especially considering you’ve just sold your top scorer of this season in Latte Lath (with 11 goals) – the same player who was the top scorer for them last term with 16.

Team News

Chris Wilder has confirmed that Tom Davies will be involved on Wednesday evening, as Kieffer Moore and Femi Seriki are only a week or two away from being available once more. Lastly, Jamie Shackleton is back in full training.

Perhaps for the first time this season, United have a smaller injury list than the team they’re facing. Michael Carrick has a number of issues to contend with. Goalkeeper Seny Dieng is a doubt, while defenders Anfernee Dijksteel and Darragh Lenihan, midfielders Jonny Howson and Riley McGree are also doubts. Promising wide midfielder Ben Doak could be sidelined once again, which would be a huge blow considering his recent form and the impact he had in the reverse fixture against the Blades.

Sheffield United’s Impact Player For This Game

DERBY, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 01: Ben Brereton Diaz of Sheffield United celebrates after scoring the team’s first goal during the Sky Bet Championship match between Derby County FC and Sheffield United FC at Pride Park on February 01, 2025 in Derby, England. (Photo by Cameron Smith/Getty Images)

Since Ben Brereton Diaz has returned to the Blades for his second loan spell, the Chilean has scored once and registered an assist in four games.

He has started the last two matches as a right-winger, which is where he has his two goal involvements from. But, you have to feel like his overall impact on the game is being limited down that side. During his Blackburn Rovers days, Brereton Diaz was turned into an inverted left-winger from striker by Tony Mowbray, and this is where he reinvented himself and he became a goal machine by cutting inside from the left and wrapping his side foot around the ball and finding the far corners.

With Jesurun Rak-Sakyi’s excellent substitute appearance last time out, this gives Wilder a decision to make regarding who plays out wide. Personally, I think the best option is: Brereton Diaz (left), Gustavo Hamer (central), Rak-Sakyi (right).

This gives the Blades explosivity on the outside, with two players that are direct when they pick the ball up. And lastly, playing Hamer central will allow him to drift wherever he wants in order to find space for the ball. Plus, he isn’t limited to just moving or passing in-field. Hamer is United’s best passer and best striker of the ball, so playing him in a free role will allow him to be a threat from all over the final third.

Middlesbrough’s Impact Player For This Game

MIDDLESBROUGH, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 03: Sunderland player Jobe Bellingham challenges Middlesbrough player Finn Azaz during the Sky Bet Championship match between Middlesbrough FC and Sunderland AFC at Riverside Stadium on February 03, 2025 in Middlesbrough, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Finn Azaz is an absolute monster in the Championship. He got double figures in both goals and assists last season, and he’s already on eight goals and nine assists in this term.

Azaz is truly a special talent, and he’s perfectly made for the number ten role because of his vision, passing and ability to drift into shooting positions, and more often than not he delivers.

The Irishman is averaging almost five shot-creating actions per game, which ranks him in the 98th percentile compared to other Championship attacking midfielders and wingers. He is averaging over two key passes per game, again ranking in the 98th percentile. And he averages almost six progressive passes per game (95th percentile).

Simply put, Azaz is a progressive and creative monster, and that’s something Sheffield United have truly missed all season. He has created a total of 62 chances throughout the season, that’s the joint-best in the Championship. For context, Hamer is fourth with 51 chances created.

To put into perspective how great of a season Azaz is having, below is a radar comparison (via FBref) between Finn Azaz and Gustavo Hamer.

As you can see, as good as Hamer is/has been for the Blades this term, Azaz has the edge over him in the majority of the key performance metrics for advanced playmakers/wingers. Azaz shades Hamer in key passes, assists, goal-creating actions and shot-creating actions.

My Prediction

Sheffield United may be 20 points ahead of Middlesbrough, but they should be approaching this game with real caution in terms of defensively. Boro have created an expected goals tally of 43, third-best in the league, and they have the fourth-best conversion rate in the league, so they create plenty, and more often than not finish those chances.

However, it is defensively that lets Carrick’s team down. Despite only giving up 31 xG (fifth-best), they have allowed their opponents to massively over perform in this metric. Their goals vs xG number is +7.58, third-worst in the league. This essentially means that either their opponents are scoring banger after banger, or, Boro’s goalkeepers have been shockingly bad. And I believe it’s the latter.

According to Opta’s expected league table, Middlesbrough should be sat in 3rd instead of 7th, whilst the Blades should be 5th. This highlights just how badly Boro have been in terms of getting good results with their good performances. And in contrast, United have managed to scrape results despite a number of poor performances.

Sheffield United should be feeling quite lucky that they are playing a Middlesbrough team that has sold their best striker in January, and have a number of key injuries. It can be said that United have not put in a good overall performance ever since Harry Souttar went down with a season-ending injury back in mid-December.

On that note, with all things considered, I think the Blades will grind out a score draw in this one. Boro are too much of a threat offensively to keep quiet, but at the same time they have shown defensive frailties, especially at the goalkeeping position all season, which is why Travers has come in to try and turn things around.