Sheffield United welcome Everton to Bramall Lane in Saturday’s early kick-off, both teams currently have zero points on the board.
While the Blades have come close to earning a point in both of their last two games, conceding late goals has been a problematic theme. In contrast, Everton are yet to find the net in the Premier League, but that’s not due to a lack of creativity, having created an expected goals tally of 4.7.
Having both yet to get a result in the league, neutrals and pundits have tipped this as an early relegation “six-pointer”.
Considering Sheffield United’s tough set of upcoming fixtures – Spurs, Newcastle and West Ham – this is a must-win game, especially being at home.
Much like the Blades, the Toffees have built this up to be a huge game even though this’ll be the fourth game of the season.
Opposition fans
“Have to win, HAVE to win”
“Nervous about this one (as ever!)”
“Just need a result here. Then maybe we’ll have a couple of new signings and McNeil back from injury to face Brentford and Arsenal and we can get going in earnest. It would be hard to recover from losing this one, though.”
“We desperately need to win this game.”
“It goes without saying for me but 0 points from Fulham (H), Villa (a), Wolves (H) and Sheff Utd (a) would be a sackable offence in itself. I don’t see how the manager survives a defeat. And, we have Arsenal and Brentford after the international break, so you could see a situation where we’ve played 6 and have 0-3 points – if we lose here. Meaning, even if he did limp on, surely it would just be prolonging the inevitable.”
“Quite simple for me this one: fail to win & he(Dyche) is done.”
Everton’s quality
It is surprising that a lot of the Everton fans have piled the pressure on the team and Dyche ahead of this match. It is Understandable that they feel it’s a big game, but to say that Dyche should be sacked if they lose or fail to win is a strange one.
As written in the Sheffield United vs Everton match preview, do not be fooled by the away side’s league position and poor start. They have the quality to hurt the Blades, but equally, United have the firepower and technicians to put the Toffees to the sword.
A Sean Dyche team is well known to be a hard-working and regimented team. But this team also has a sprinkle of magic about them. They’ve created more big chances than the likes of Manchester City, Spurs and Liverpool so far, which might surprise you. But poor finishing, and amateurish defending, particularly down their left, has been their downfall thus far.
The addition of Beto, a tall, powerful and athletic striker, is a major signing for them. He already notched in his debut in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night.
Last season they only managed to win two away games in the Premier League. One of those wins was a spectacular 5-1 thrashing against Brighton & Hove Albion towards the end of the campaign.
