On Bramall Lane five days after the duel with Derby County, Blackburn Rovers will be welcomed by Sheffield United. In order to hold the fourth position of the Championship, Blackburn will have to be established. A preview!
Sheffield United:
Due to a victory over competitor Derby County, Sheffield United ended the Christmas period as number four of the Championship. Besides Derby, Middlesbrough also lost last week, enabling The Blades to exchange sixth place for place four in the rankings. Only Leeds United, Norwich City and West Brom are still above the team of Chris Wilder.
At Bramall Lane, Derby was beaten 3-1, thanks to another goal from top scorer Billy Sharp. Almost in an identical manner and at almost the same time (41st to 47th minute) as his goal against Ipswich Town, Sharp headed the ball against the ropes. At Jack O’Connell’s suggestion, the 32-year-old Englishman made his thirteenth goal of the season. His assault partners David McGoldrick and substitute Leon Clarke also contributed to the victory over The Rams.
Child of the club Billy Sharp proves at age 32 to be one of, and perhaps the most important player of Sheffield United. The striker started at The Blades in 2004 and after a short period of time at Scunthorpe United, Southampton and Doncaster Rovers, he once again stood up to his childhood love in 2015. Since then, United’s current captain has grown into a mainstay. From the season 2015-16 until the beginning of this season, Sharp was good for 64 goals. This season, Sharp is doing well again with thirteen goals from eighteen games.
Blackburn Rovers:
After a period in which Blackburn Rovers competed for the top spots in the Championship, the team of Tony Mowbray dropped to the 14th position of the rankings. No default for the PhD student, especially given the fact that future opponent Sheffield United only has ten points more than The Rovers. However, by winning only one of the last eight league matches, Blackburn has not made it easy for itself. Only the troubled Sheffield Wednesday has been defeated since the beginning of November (4-2).
Nevertheless, a side note can be placed with the last defeat on a visit to Leeds United. On Elland Road it was 1-1 at the 90th minute after a game in which Leeds seemed to have the most right to victory. To everyone’s surprise, captain Charlie Mulgrew hit the 1-2 behind Leeds-keeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell at the start of the injury time, with which he almost certainly stunted The Rovers.
In an unimaginable way, however, Blackburn did not even have a point left on the trip to the Championship leader. Leeds scored twice in the extra time, resulting in a 3-2 loss. Mowbray said the following after the game: “We are really starting to become a good team. We have worked incredibly hard against a great team. Nevertheless, we have thrown away the good result in the extra time. The silence prevailed in the locker room ‘.
PREDICTION: Sheffield Utd to win @ 1.62
