Sheffield United briefly experienced hope with four points from a victory against Wolves and a draw with Brighton at the beginning of November. However, subsequent losses against Bournemouth and a 5-0 defeat to Burnley, led to Paul Heckingbottom’s departure.
Chris Wilder returned as the manager but faced a 2-0 loss to Liverpool in his comeback match, but the performance was much better than they’ve recently served up.
On the other hand, Brentford currently hold 11th position in the table, facing three defeats in their last four league games. Despite a challenging run, two of these losses were against strong opponents Arsenal and Liverpool, along with a midweek defeat to Brighton. Their sole victory during this period came against Luton Town.
Team news
Oli McBurnie is set to serve the second match of his two-game suspension, having received his second red card against Burnley last weekend. Oli Norwood is also suspended, his absence adds to a growing list of unavailable players for Chris Wilder. George Baldock is doubtful with a tight hamstring.
Brentford face a significant setback as Bryan Mbeumo is sidelined with an injury, joining a growing list of injured players. The winger is expected to be out “for weeks” following an ankle issue in the recent defeat to Brighton.
On a positive note, Christian Norgaard returns from suspension, and there is a possibility of Josh Dasilva and Mathias Jensen making a comeback in the Bees midfield.
Difference makers
On Wednesday night it was an encouraging yet frustrating performance because United should’ve done more with the high quality positions they got into, especially Cameron Archer.
Having said that, his performance against Liverpool I thought was his best in a Blades shirt by a country mile. Starting down the Blades left, Archer occupied Liverpool’s right side whenever he had the opportunity, using his body well and his acceleration.
He registered eight dribbles, with four being successful. That might sound like nothing, but in actual fact it’s huge. Chris Wilder has clearly unlocked something in Archer because for the first time we saw him drive at the opposition and draw fouls.
In the second half, he timed a great run to get in behind the Liverpool defence, but he delayed the shot, the confidence in the final third is on the floor, for everybody it seems.
But against Brentford I think he can replicate his impactful performance and cap it off with a goal.
For Brentford, it’s a major blow to not have Bryan Mbeumo for the next few weeks, but they are still not short of weapons.
In the absence of Ivan Toney, Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa have massively stepped up for the Bees. This season between them, they have 14 goal contributions out of 23 of Brentford’s goals.
Wissa is a handful for any defender; his pace, intelligence and relentlessness makes him a big weapon for Thomas Frank’s team.
Although he isn’t the cleanest of finishers, if anybody is going to be a threat for the away team on Saturday, I think it will be him, even if it’s not him getting on the end of attacks. He draws out defenders, and that could give midfielder’s like Vitaly Yanelt a chance to make a late dash into the box for a chance.
Stats
Sheffield United are yet to secure a clean sheet in the current Premier League season, and their goal tally stands at only 11, the lowest among all clubs.
Brentford, in their recent four games, managed only one win against a team positioned in the bottom half of the table.
Additionally, Sheffield United have faced difficulties against London clubs at home, losing their last six Premier League matches in those encounters.
Conclusion
For Sheffield United, this fixture couldn’t have fallen at a better time. The Blades have just put in a positive performance against Liverpool on Wednesday, and they should be confident coming up against Brentford at home, especially given they will be without their best player, Bryan Mbeumo.
Can Chris Wilder claim his first win of his second spell at his boyhood club?
