Sheffield United travel to Preston North End on Friday evening to kick off their 24/25 Championship campaign.
The Blades are coming off of a disastrous Premier League season last time out; they finished rock bottom and set the record for the most goals conceded in a Premier League term (104 goals).
Preston are entering this new season off the back of a solid tenth place finish in the 2023/24 campaign, finishing ten points off the play-off places.
Despite finishing in mid-table, they averaged 1.2 goals scored per game whilst conceding an average of 1.5 goals in last season’s Championship.
Their performances at the back end of the season were terrible, losing five consecutive games and didn’t register a single goal – losing by an aggregate of 11-0.
Transfer business
The Lilywhites have had a fairly poor transfer window thus far only bringing in two players: Sam Greenwood on loan from Leeds United, and the permanent signing of Stefan Thordarson from Silkeborg.
On the flip side, they have lost one of their most experienced campaigners, and former captain, Alan Browne.
Team news
The hosts will likely adopt a 3-4-3 style of approach. Preston’s top scorer last season Will Keane – with 13 goals – is expected to start for the home side, with loanee Sam Greenwood set to feature from the get go.
Ryan Lowe’s number one shot-stopper Freddie Woodman could return to action after suffering from a muscle injury which saw him miss the last couple of friendlies. Ali McCann and Layton Stewart are doubts for the Lilywhites’ first game of the season, according to a report from the Lancashire Evening Post.
The Blades could hand competitive debuts to Harrison Burrows and Callum O’Hare. Kieffer Moore is also available for selection, while Jamie Shackleton is understood to be out until the end of the month.
Latest recruits Harry Souttar and Alfie Gilchrist could feature on the bench having only just signed on loan.
Preston North End’s star player for this match
The Lilywhites will hope to have their first choice goalkeeper Freddie Woodman starting on Friday night, and he would likely have a big say on the score line if he starts. Since his debut in the 2019/20 campaign, no Championship goalkeeper has registered more clean sheets than Woodman – recording 60 clean sheets.
Sheffield United’s star player for this match
The last time Gustavo Hamer was in the Championship he bagged nine goals for Coventry City and provided ten assists, and I think it’s fair to say this current Sheffield United starting XI is much better than that Coventry team.
Additionally, it looks like he is going to be playing far more advanced than the last time he featured in the second tier so he will find himself in more dangerous positions.
In his debut Premier League campaign where scored four times and provided six assists, Hamer averaged 1.4 shots per game and two key passes per game. Now he’s playing against lesser opponents this tally could only increase.
My view
Although the Blades notoriously struggle in the opening game of the season I think this is one of the matches that they would’ve wanted as the first game, and being away could actually work in their favour.
There is a negative cloud hovering over Deepdale at the minute; the club had an awful end to the previous campaign – losing five in a row without scoring a single goal – and they have only made two signings at the time of writing this. Also, a section of the fan base do not like the football Ryan Lowe plays and they want a change in style of play.
This is almost the exact opposite of the atmosphere around United at the minute. Okay, there is uncertainty over the future ownership, but despite this, the Blades have made some excellent signings this summer. They have a new playing system as well which has served them well throughout their pre-season campaign.
Even though Sheffield United are entering Friday evening off the back of a shocking Premier League term and Preston are coming off of a high mid-table finish, it does seem like there’s much more positivity surrounding the Blades than the home side right now.
Prediction
First games of the season are always difficult to predict. This could always be a 0-0 where both sides look a bit jittery and sloppy as they try to work on their new patterns of play. However, I think Sheffield United will win this by at least a couple of goals, here’s why…
Only one team registered fewer shots on target per game than Preston last season (3.1) and that was the team who finished bottom of the table Rotherham United.
In contrast, PNE was the sixth worst performing team in terms of giving up shots on target (4.4) in the Championship last term.
Preston were also quite poor against dribblers; their players got dribbled past on an average of nine times per game – the second worst in the division.
The only thing I can see the home side being better at in this match is winning the aerial battle. Last season the Blades were terrible in the air, especially when facing defensive situations. Preston, meanwhile, were the second best performing team in terms of aerial ability, they averaged over 20 aerial duels won per game.
