Sheffield United’s biggest achievement in recent history was two promotions in three seasons, prior to a 9th-placed Premier League finish, a rise from which Sunderland can take inspiration.
The Black Cats went up from League One via the play-offs last year and, now five points off extending their season in the Championship with a young, talented, and vibrant squad, Tony Mowbray’s side seek to emulate their similarly-striped northerners.
The Blades have promotion in sight themselves, holding a four-point cushion over Middlesbrough: favourable, perhaps, but four defeats in six league games mean the Red and White Wizards’ room for error has shrunken from a great hall to a cupboard under the stairs. Here’s the Sunderland vs Sheffield United betting preview.
Mowbray’s big calls
If Sunderland were going to keep their immediate prospects intriguing, they needed a reaction to the 5-1 loss to Stoke on Sunday: they got it, too, defeating play-off rivals Norwich 1-0 at Carrow Road.
A far cry from the defensive capitulation against former boss Alex Neil, Tony Mowbray’s side were organised and resolute against one of the best attacking sides in the league on current form.
Mowbray has a habit of making the odd surprise omission and it hasn’t always paid off, but the call to drop Amad Diallo for Abdoullah Ba proved wise.
Diallo has been capable of the spectacular this season, but he can drift out of games as well, and what was required in Norfolk was a solid and concerted defensive effort.
Ba brought more aggression against the ball, and the recent France Under-19s star, now 19, posed a threat on the counter-attack, knocking home the only goal of the game in transition.
Mowbray now has a fascinating dilemma: he could bring Diallo, one of the most gifted players in the Championship, back into the XI, or reward Ba with another start and keep his compatriot as a nice problem to have on the bench.
Are the Blades becoming blunt?
Recent weeks suggest the old guard of Chris Basham, John Fleck, Oli McBurnie, and Billy Sharp aren’t going to haul Sheffield United over the promotion line, under threat from an unrelenting Middlesbrough.
Anel Ahmedhodzic and Tommy Doyle hold the key to the consistency required for the Blades to finish the job, in defence and midfield respectively, but the big question lies up top.
Fit-again Iliman Ndiaye is one of the Championship’s top performers, while Sander Berge on a good day is streets above this level, but McBurnie is off-form, Sharp is declining and Daniel Jebbison is raw, whereas the Blades’ competitors have obvious, go-to options.
The tactics board
Sunderland will want to keep parts of the organisation they displayed last week, whilst having the attacking intent to honour the desires of the Roker End. As such, we can expect them to operate with a slightly higher line than we saw at Carrow Road, with Ba keen to catch Norwood out on the ball in the opposing half, before releasing Patrick Roberts, Dan Neil, Jack Clarke and Joe Gelhardt.
If the Black Cats can execute those transitional moments accordingly, they have a chance of catching out Sheffield United, who may only have Tommy Doyle as a high-energy midfielder charging back to track runners. Meanwhile, the Blades may find themselves short of a cutting-edge up top.
Sunderland vs Sheffield United betting tips
Sheffield United might find the solutions to the issues that have caused them four league defeats in six, yet that form does make it hard to justify siding with them away to a Play-Off challenger at odds as short as 5/4. As such, the value could be with the hosts, who are 4/7 to avoid defeat on Wednesday night, while Abdoullah Ba is 4/1 to score in back-to-back games.
Double Chance: Sunderland/Draw – 4/7 with Paddy Power
Abdoullah Ba to score anytime – 4/1 with Paddy Power
All odds are accurate at time of writing.
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