Sheffield United vs West Bromwich Albion – Preview | OneFootball

Sheffield United will be looking to get back to winning ways on Sunday afternoon when they host manager-less West Bromwich Albion.

The Blades have produced two poor showings at Bramall Lane of late, managing to beat Plymouth Argyle 2-0 despite conceding plenty of big chances, and more recently losing 2-0 to Burnley on Boxing Day where United barely tested their goalkeeper.

West Bromwich Albion suffered a 2-1 defeat away at Derby County on Boxing Day, which was their first game since Carlos Corberan left for Valencia. This result now leaves the Baggies two points outside of the top six.

Transfer Business

As mentioned in the reverse fixture earlier this month, bringing back Michael Johnston was a great piece of business by the club, with the Irishman providing seven goals and one assist in 15 appearances during his short loan spell last season. The Blades got a glimpse of the threat he can pose in the reverse fixture at the Hawthorns, but luckily he didn’t have his most composed game in the final third.

Likewise, I pointed out Torbjorn Heggem as a player I like the look of in the preview for the away fixture. The Norwegian was brought in on a very cheap fee from IF Brommapojkarna. At just 25 years of age, Heggem is showing all the capabilities of being a future Premier League defender. It’s becoming a trend now at elite level to have tall central defenders play as a full-back (or false-back) if they have the pace and technical ability to fulfill that role, and Heggem fits that bill.

We saw Heggem post a nine for 11 duel success rate against the Blades earlier this month, including a 89% pass completion, a key pass registered, as well as the goal to give West Brom the lead.

Team News

Vinicius Souza is a doubt having been brought off at half-time with a tight hamstring in the defeat to Burnley. The Blades await more news regarding Harry Souttar’s serious looking injury.

Chris Wilder revealed to SUTV that several players have been suffering from illness in the last couple of weeks; Tom Davies played through illness against Cardiff City, and Rhian Brewster had an illness on Boxing Day, whilst Jesurun Rak-Sakyi missed out altogether.

West Brom will be without Daryl Dike and Semi Ajayi who are both suffering from long-term injuries. Meanwhile, there is uncertainty involving Mason Holgate, who was subbed off with an injury against Derby having scored an own goal earlier in the game.

Harrison Burrows gives Sheffield United the lead against Blackburn Rovers. The goal is Burrows’ first goal for the Blades since joining from Peterborough United.

Sheffield United’s Star Player For This Game

In the reverse fixture, Sheffield United relied on two outstanding deliveries from Harrison Burrows to get their goals across a three minute span. Even though he wasn’t credited with an assist for Callum O’Hare’s goal, it was his low cross which caught out the back line and then O’Hare was on hand to poke the loose ball home. Moments later, United’s left-back produced another excellent low cross which Tyrese Campbell took full advantage of.

Burrows ended the game at the Hawthorns with 0.61 xA (expected assists), he also tallied five crosses and two attempts at goal, albeit both were blocked. Burrows was able to get in behind West Brom’s right-back Darnell Furlong and I see no reason why he won’t be able to do the same again, and this time he will likely have Kieffer Moore to aim for in the middle.

HULL, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 10: Cody Drameh of Hull City tackles Tom Fellows of West Bromwich Albion during the Sky Bet Championship match between Hull City AFC and West Bromwich Albion FC at MKM Stadium on November 10, 2024 in Hull, England. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)

West Bromwich Albion’s Star Player For This Game

Tom Fellows is in fantastic form right now having claimed four assists and one goal in his last eight appearances, including his equaliser against Sheffield United in early December.

Fellows is somewhat an old-fashioned winger; as soon as he receives the ball he looks to bomb down the wing and whip a cross in with either foot. The 21-year-old has nine assists to his name leaving him joint-top on the assist charts in the Championship.

He is creating one chance per game from open play per 90. Additionally, he is averaging 1.4 successful crosses per game which is the highest out of any Championship player who has at least 20 appearances this season, per Opta.

My Prediction

Under Carlos Corberan you knew exactly what you were going to get with West Bromwich Albion, and you also knew you were coming up against a top class Championship manager who was good at adjusting his team mid-game.

The Baggies will be managed by former Sheffield Wednesday player Chris Brunt until they can get a new permanent manager, and Brunt is extremely inexperienced when it comes to management.

West Brom average 2.8 successful crosses per game, the sixth-best in the Championship, and with Harry Souttar unavailable for this game, who is the best headerer of the ball for United, this will definitely test the back line. Additionally, the away side average the third-highest accurate through balls in the league, and they have the pace in their attack to test United’s defence.

West Brom are the fourth-best team in the league at creating scoring opportunities from set-pieces, and once again, with no Souttar, and most likely no Vinicius Souza, the visitors can potentially take advantage of these situations.

The Blades are struggling at the minute with injuries and illness in the squad, but it’s tough to imagine Chris Wilder losing back-to-back home games, especially a loss against an inexperienced manager like Chris Brunt. My prediction is a 2-0 win for Sheffield United.