Sheffield United face a must win game away from home today as they travel to Bristol City looking to finally pick something up on the road.
The Blades haven’t won away from Bramall Lane since the start of February, when a victory at St Andrews made it two in a row on the road. The worrying trend of failing to win away has derailed United’s promotion bid a tad, and today’s game is a huge chance for Paul Heckingbottom and his team to put things right.
Friday’s home defeat against Reading means this game is now bigger than ever. Heckingbottom, then, has some big calls to make after getting some wrong on Friday.
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With this being such a huge game, it wouldn’t surprise us to see Heckingbottom ring the changes. There are hopes that John Fleck and Chris Basham will be fit enough to play. The duo are key for the Blades, and their return would be most welcome.
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Similarly, Sander Berge should come back into the starting XI. Heckingbottom admitted the Norwegian deserved a breather against Reading but he needs to play. In defence, the left side needs changing. Ben Davies was at fault twice on Friday, while Enda Stevens offered nothing going forward. Both Jack Robinson and Rhys Norrington-Davies are both pushing to come back in.
Finally, up top, United have a headache. Oli McBurnie is likely to miss out. However, Iliman Ndiaye scored on Friday and he should now come in. A front three with no direct number nine could happen, with Ndiaye, Berge, and Gibbs-White all playing off of each other.
Predicted Blades XI At Bristol City
Sheffield United essentially have four cup finals to put themselves in the playoff picture. Heckingbottom has to get it right today and do so, he needs to make changes.
We think intensity is needed, and Basham, Norrington-Davies and Robinson bring that. A different outlet is needed in the final third, and Ndiaye can provide that. Finally, in midfield, Berge and Fleck need to play to drive us forward.
Here, then, is our predicted XI – or more so, what we’d go with – as United travel to Bristol today.
