Sheffield United head into this week’s home clash against Portsmouth with renewed confidence after thrashing Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough 3-0.
The Blades well and truly silenced the Owls on Sunday by netting three goals, but in truth it could’ve been five or six. United saw Patrick Bamford make his debut, which looked promising, and Gustavo Hamer made a late sub appearance after recovering from his knee injury.
Portsmouth head to Bramall Lane as the worst away side in the Championship this season. However, they defeated ten-man Millwall 3-1 at the weekend, which should give them boosted confidence.
Team News
As previously stated, Hamer got a few minutes of injury time at Hillsborough after being out with a knee issue for several weeks. He could be in line for another start on the bench as Chris Wilder attempts to build up his sharpness.
Oliver Arblaster and Tahith Chong did not make the bench for the Steel City derby, though they are close to returning. Wilder did reveal in the build-up to kick-off that Tom Davies has suffered a slight setback with the length of injury currently unknown.
Portsmouth’s struggles this term have largely been down to having their best player out injured in Callum Lang. John Mousinho has revealed that whilst Lang had an impressive sub appearance on Saturday afternoon, Wednesday could still be too soon for him to start. He told Portsmouth, “He can’t put the handbrake on, it’s just impossible with him. He’d give me a different answer, he’d say he was ready to start against Millwall. That’s the thing with Langy, we just need to protect him from himself a bit.”
Sheffield United’s Impact Player For This Game
There were so many brilliant performances on Sunday afternoon against the Owls, but I feel like it’s impossible to ignore the difference that Femi Seriki makes to the Blades when he starts at right-back. Firstly, he allows Japhet Tanganga to play in his natural position at centre-back. Secondly, Seriki isn’t just a natural right-back, he is a freak athlete. He has the pace, power and agility which helps him so much in defensive one-vs-one’s and offensive moments.
Against Wednesday it was something else that caught my eye though. He looked like a very experienced player using his speed to get to the ball first, then using his body to draw a foul to relieve pressure from the back line. This is without a doubt one of football’s hidden components we’ve missed for most of this season.
Diving into his stats, he won three out of three tackles, 12 of 18 ground duels, and three of six aerial duels. Plus, he made three ball recoveries. The Blades look far more solid defensively with him at right-back that’s for sure.
With Tanganga at right-back, United lack someone that can overlap down the side of the winger or make a darting run into the half-space. Seriki does both of those so well, so it forces the opposition to engage the right side of United’s XI with at least three players due to the pace Seriki possesses.
The 23-year-old looked unstoppable when he ran at the opposition on Sunday, and he finished the game with six total dribble attempts, three completions, and he got to the byline at will, creating 0.63 expected assists.
Portsmouth’s Impact Player For This Game
Josh Murphy was simply outstanding last campaign, netting seven goals and providing 14 assists, a big reason for their 16th-placed finish. This season he’s got three assists in nine games, and one of those came at the weekend.
Murphy’s performance at the weekend was sensational against the ten men of Millwall, which isn’t always an easy feat. The winger made three key passes, one big chance, and of course the assist. His volume of crossing is something the Blades will have to be prepared for; he put in nine crosses with four of them being successful, and we all know how suspect United’s defence has been from crosses this term.
If Murphy does indeed play, he’ll likely be starting on the left wing, so he’ll be coming up against Seriki, which should be a fascinating watch as it pits an experienced winger against a very promising full-back.
My Prediction
The Blades are fast becoming one of the Championship’s top creating sides, with a non-penalty expected goals of 21.4. Portsmouth meanwhile are slightly below average with 17.9. Again, it’s defensively that’s letting Mousinho’s side down, they are the fifth-worst team in the division for non-penalty expected goals with 22.4, while United are around the league average with 19.3.
From a style of play perspective, Portsmouth love to put the ball in the box at every opportunity. They lead the league in cross attempts at 283, and 63 of those are successful, which is again a league high. This is something the Blades will be fearful of considering their defensive struggles. To add, United allow opponents to have 25 touches in their box per game. So crosses and the second ball from clearances could be a successful route for the visitors.
Due to the style of victory the Blades just had on Sunday, and Portsmouth’s terrible away record, I am confident in a home win. Sheffield United win this one by a two-goal margin.
