Sheffield United have faced a challenging return to the Premier League and are yet to secure their first win of the season, currently occupying the bottom position in the league standings.
In their recent match, they suffered a heavy 5-0 defeat at the hands of in-form Arsenal, with four of those goals coming after the restart, and they couldn’t manage a single shot on target.
On the other hand, Wolves are in a more favorable position, sitting 12th in the Premier League standings with 12 points earned from 10 games. They will aim to increase their points tally with a victory in the upcoming match on Saturday.
Opposition fans
“Absolutely have to be targeting a win here. Literally the worst 10 game start of any Premier League team ever, manager possibly getting sacked, leaking goals everywhere.”
“We will obviously lose and then beat spurs. Why pretend anything else is going to happen?”
“They are going to threaten Derby’s record. Even without Neto, we should have too much.”
“Historically this is the type of game we struggle in. Without Neto to stretch them as well it will be a bit more difficult. Having watched them we should win. We all know that in football nothing is guaranteed.”
“Tight scruffy game coming up with 1-0 either way.”
“Hopefully they don’t sack their manager before the game.”
“Sheff Utd are absolutely pony, they’ve sold their best players and they aren’t even putting up a fight in most of their games.”
Key stats
Sheffield United’s defensive struggles are evident, as they have conceded a record-breaking 29 goals in their first ten Premier League matches this season, marking the highest ever by a team at this stage of a campaign.
Wolverhampton Wanderers have been effective with their substitutes contributing to goals, with a ratio of four goals scored by substitutes out of their total of 13. Sasa Kalajdzic has been a key contributor with two of these substitute goals. He also boasts the best minutes-per-goal ratio in the Premier League this season, scoring once every 26 minutes [Opta].
Sheffield United goalkeeper Wes Foderingham has faced a tough season, conceding 29 goals in his ten Premier League starts. Only Mark Travers (31) and David Watson (30) have conceded more across their first 10 starts in the competition. These statistics highlight the challenges both teams are facing in their respective campaigns [BBC].
My opinion
This upcoming stretch of games features plenty of ‘must-wins’ for the Blades, if they want to stand any chance of surviving, starting with Wolves on Saturday. With no Oli McBurnie as a focal point, it will be difficult. However, the away side will be without their star player Pedro Neto.
Games that Wolves are involved in tend to be back and forth encounters, and I don’t think that will change on Saturday. I expect both teams to create chances, and with Paul Heckingbottom’s job on the line in front of a packed out Bramall Lane I think Sheffield United can edge this in a hard-fought battle. I’m picking the Blades to win by a two-goal margin.
