Sheffield United make a short trip to Blackburn Rovers on Tuesday night in a clash at the bottom of the table.
Blackburn Rovers lost 2-0 to Coventry City at the weekend and have failed to win, and keep a clean sheet, since early September when they defeated Watford by a goal to nil.
The Blades, meanwhile, picked up a 1-0 win against Watford themselves, marking their first home victory of the season and just their second win. Perhaps serving as more encouragement to United, Blackburn have registered one point at Ewood Park all season.
Transfer Business
Rovers had a pretty poor summer transfer window and it’s no wonder they’re in the bottom three at this stage because of it. Firstly, they lost a lot of Championship experience in players such as Tyrhys Dolan, Lewis Travis, Callum Brittian, and Jon Rankin-Costello, but this quartet are all decent players in the second division on their day.
When you tally it up, they lost 28 goal contributions from last term in losing these players and they failed to replace this. Again, it’s no surprise to see them currently on seven goals, which is the second-lowest return in the league.
The only real positive from the summer was that Blackburn managed to keep their key playmaker Todd Cantwell. After getting ten goals and assists combined last season, he already has four in just seven appearances this time around.
Team News
The season just looks bleaker for Valerien Ismael as he will likely remain without Hayden Carter, Moussa Baradji, Harry Pickering and key man and captain Todd Cantwell for this clash. Defender Lewis Miller is another injury concern after picking up a knock in the 2-0 defeat against Coventry last Saturday afternoon.
Chris Wilder has stated that he doesn’t expect Gustavo Hamer to be out long-term like Oliver Arblaster’s length of injury, though he has ruled the Dutchman out for this week. Tom Davies is back in training after tweaking a calf against Hull City before the international break. Wilder explained he will be cautious with the experienced midfielder, so he may not be available for Tuesday night. And with Djibril Soumare’s lack of game time, perhaps we could see Jairo Riedewald be handed his full debut.
Blackburn Rovers’ Impact Player For This Game
With Todd Cantwell likely remaining out, the next biggest threat for the home side is likely 29-year-old Yuki Ohashi, who found the net nine times last season, and Blackburn Rovers will need him to exceed that tally this campaign if they want to avoid a relegation battle. The Japanese forward has already opened his account for the season but it’s been a struggle for this Blackburn attack.
Ohashi is one of the worst performers in front of goal in the Championship with a non-penalty goals vs non-penalty expected goals number of -0.89. That being said, he is getting into positions/making runs using his movement, he just needs more quality into him, and then he himself needs to be more composed when he gets a chance.
Sheffield United’s Impact Player For This Game
Before the season began, who would’ve thought we’d be in late October and Callum O’Hare would be responsible for 75% of United’s Championship goals? Of course, part of that is due to the shocking start to the campaign, but O’Hare has been the man to step up on more than one occasion this season in the final third.
The tireless midfielder has two goals to his name, both of which are winning goals, and he had the assist to Tyrese Campbell in the only goal of Ruben Selles’ reign back in the season opener against Bristol City. O’Hare has also made six chances from open play.
At this stage in his Sheffield United career, fans know exactly what O’Hare is to the team. He isn’t a fancy advanced playmaker like what you mostly see these days. He isn’t quick, nor does he possess fancy skill moves. But what he does is very effective. He is hardly ever stationary, always giving the man on the ball an option. He sets the tone for the team from a work rate point of view off the ball, cutting passing lanes and pressing the opposition when in possession.
Perhaps his biggest asset is his availability. He has already made 11 appearances this season including the league cup, and last season he made 47 appearances including the play-offs.
On a short turnaround, I expect some players to be swapped for the Blades at Ewood Park, though O’Hare may not be one of them, thanks to his insane energy levels. He can help spark the Blades to life again on Tuesday.
My Prediction
The home side are outperforming the Blades by just 0.6 in terms of non-penalty expected goals. Defensively, there is a bigger gap with Rovers being the fifth-best in the league for non-penalty expected goals given up.
Pressure is mounting up on Ismael, but so are the injuries for Blackburn, and given the positive feeling around the Blades after their first home win last Saturday, I believe Sheffield United can get the job done here. Providing Rovers don’t have Todd Cantwell back for this game, the Blades can win and pick up another clean sheet.
