Sheffield United make the short trip across South Yorkshire to Oakwell today as they face a struggling Barnsley side in the Championship.
It’s a dinner time kick off for Blades fans making that small journey. And those Blades fans will be hoping for far better than the performance they were dished up against Millwall on Tuesday.
For 30 minutes, United were dreadful. That bad, in fact, that Slavisa Jokanovic took Conor Hourihane off before half-time. It’s unlikely Hourihane will play today, albeit it is against one of his former teams.
The Sheffield United boss faces more selection issues ahead of Barnsley, too.
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Morgan Gibbs-White is missing through suspension, while Jayden Bogle is unlikely to be fit either. That’s two enforced changes before Jokanovic even thinks about tinkering elsewhere.
But tinker he might. David McGoldrick was poor against Millwall and missed two sitters on the night. He could drop out to give Oli McBurnie a chance against his former club. While in midfield, as mentioned, Hourihane should be removed from the fold to see Oli Norwood return.
Iliman Ndiaye is likely to be given a start, too. We expect him to start on the right of the attacking three behind Sharp, with McBurnie in a deeper role as a number ten.
At the back, the good news is George Baldock is back fit. He will step in for Bogle, while the three of Stevens, Egan, and Davies will likely stay put.
Longer term, Sander Berge is still not fit. Oliver Burke is due back in training next week, as is Luke Freeman. Jack O’Connell, as we all know, is not going to be around for some time.
Here, then, is how we see Sheffield United lining up when they take on Barnsley at Oakwell this afternoon.
