Sheffield United take on Barnsley today in their final pre-season friendly before the season gets up and running at Watford in just over a weeks’ time.
The Blades enjoyed a good run out last night at Burton as a team mixed with experience and youth saw off the Brewers at the Pirelli Stadium. Daniel Jebbison scored twice, while Enda Stevens also fired in from range to seal a 3-0 win.
However, there’s no time to rest for the United players as they take on Barnsley at Oakwell today, albeit the XI will be a completely different one to that which featured last night.
Team News
According to the Sheffield Star, Paul Heckingbottom is set to include a number of new faces in his XI. It’s expected that Anel Ahmedhodzic will play, while Max Lowe could also feature at left wing-back.
Ciaran Clark is also likely to get the nod at left centre-back, while the likes of Rhian Brewster and Iliman Ndiaye are expected to lead the attack for Heckingbottom.
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Given Chris Basham, Oli Norwood, and Rhys Norrington-Davies all played last night at Burton, that means three first-team regulars from last year won’t be playing. Ismaila Coulibaly also featured yesterday, while Tommy Doyle remains injured.
Billy Sharp and Oli McBurnie are also expected to be missing today, while Jayden Bogle remains a long-term injury worry.
Likely Sheffield United XI At Barnsley
Wes Foderingham should start in goal, with Adam Davies out injured. At full-back, Lowe and Baldock are likely to be the choice of Heckingbottom, while a back three of Clark, Egan and Ahmedhodzic should be the choice.
In midfield, Norwood’s omission means it’s likely we’ll see Ben Osborn, John Fleck and Sander Berge feature.
That leaves Ndiaye and Brewster leading the line, with Berge or Osborn likely to be tasked with supporting the duo.
Here, then, is our predicted Sheffield United XI as they travel to Barnsley today.
