Aiming to move to the top of the Championship table, Sheffield United will welcome Hull City to Bramall Lane on Friday.
The hosts currently sit second thanks to a three-match winning run and only trail leaders Leeds United by a single point, while their visitors sit one point adrift of safety heading into the weekend.
Match preview
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Sheffield United return to Championship action on Friday aiming to move to the summit of the table, having bounced back in style in recent weeks following a tricky festive period.
Aiming to win an immediate promotion back to the Premier League this term, the Blades have enjoyed a strong campaign thus far, winning a league-high tally of 60 points with only a two-point deduction denying them top spot, having lost ground around the turn of the year.
Following an 11-match league unbeaten run which culminated in three straight victories before Christmas, Chris Wilder's side saw their momentum halted in losses to fellow promotion-chasers Burnley and Sunderland either side of a draw with West Bromwich Albion, but they have since climbed back into the top two with three more wins on the bounce.
After picking up 2-1 and 2-0 triumphs away at Watford and at home to Norwich City respectively, with the latter coming thanks to a Harrison Burrows brace last weekend, the South Yorkshire outfit most recently visited Swansea City on Tuesday and came from behind to take all three points, as Rhian Brewster levelled the scores at a goal apiece early in the second half and Burrows converted a penalty to seal the victory.
Now sitting one point being league leaders Leeds United, but only two ahead of Burnley and four ahead of Sunderland in the automatic promotion race, Sheffield United will aim to gain an edge and strengthen their standing with a home victory at the beginning of the weekend, having won 10 of their 13 league attempts at Bramall Lane thus far.
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Their visitors, meanwhile, make the trip across Yorkshire in search of three crucial points in their own fight at the other end of the Championship.
Indeed, Hull City will aim to continue an encouraging start to life under Ruben Selles, who arrived in mid-December when they sat on just 15 points from 19 outings.
He has since overseen nine Championship outings including three victories and two draws to narrow the Tigers' gap to safety, with their most recent triumph coming away at Millwall last weekend as a second-half Jake Cooper own-goal made the only difference between the sides.
Selles's men then hosted in-form Queens Park Rangers on Tuesday but failed to make it back-to-back wins, instead coming away empty-handed with Joe Gelhardt's long-range goal not enough to spark a turnaround after Kenneth Paal and Koki Saito had the visitors 2-0 up after the hour mark.
While they will be left disappointed by that home defeat, Hull City do now only trail 21st-placed Derby County by a single point, and with cause to be optimistic about their away form, with only six sides topping the 22nd-placed Tigers' tally of four league wins on the road this term, they will aim to take a major scalp on Friday and leap out of the bottom three.
Team News
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Sheffield United will remain without midfielder Oliver Arblaster and attacker Kieffer Moore due to injuries on Friday, with Tom Davies also set to remain sidelined, while key man Gustavo Hamer will miss out through suspension due to an accumulation of yellow cards.
Their injury concerns have started to ease in some areas, though, with Tyrese Campbell fit to feature off the bench in Tuesday's victory, while midfielder Vinicius Souza and winger Jesurun Rak-Sakyi are both nearing returns to full fitness.
Indeed, Souza may rejoin Sydie Peck in the engine room, while Campbell could lead the line with support from Callum O'Hare, Rhian Brewster and either Rak-Sakyi, Andre Brook or recent loan arrival Ben Brereton Diaz, who netted six goals in 14 Premier League appearances in his first loan spell with the Blades last term.
Hull City continue to deal with an unenviable injury list of their own heading into Friday's trip, with Charlie Hughes, Lewie Coyle, Kasey Palmer, Mohamed Belloumi, Liam Millar and Ryan Longman all confined to the treatment room.
Ruben Selles could opt to make some changes to his starting XI from Tuesday's defeat to QPR, and Ivor Pandur is bound to return between the sticks after Carl Rushworth was recalled by Brighton & Hove Albion, while Xavier Simons could take former Sheffield United man Regan Slater's place in the midfield.
Elsewhere, January arrivals Matt Crooks, Kyle Joseph and Nordin Amrabat will compete for attacking spots alongside Mason Burstow, after Joe Gelhardt, Gustavo Puerta and Harry Vaughan lined up behind Joao Pedro in midweek.
Sheffield United possible starting lineup:
Cooper; Gilchrist, Ahmedhodzic, Robinson, Burrows; Souza, Peck; Brewster, O'Hare, Brooks; Campbell
Hull City possible starting lineup:
Pandur; Drameh, Burns, Jones, McLoughlin; Simons, Alzate; Gelhardt, Puerta, Burstow; Crooks
We say: Sheffield United 2-0 Hull City
Hull City can certainly cause any Championship side problems under Ruben Selles and they have shown the potential to climb towards safety, but we see a trip to Bramall Lane as a step too far and back the in-form Blades to record a fourth straight league win in relatively routine fashion.
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Sam Varley
