Sheffield United's recent run of good form has helped lift them to within touching distance of the Championship's playoff positions, currently sitting eighth and just two points behind sixth spot.
The Blades host Swansea City at Bramall Lane on Saturday, when the visitors are aiming to record back-to-back wins for the first time since October.
Match preview
© Reuters
Since Paul Heckingbottom took over from Slavisa Jokanovic at the end of November, Sheffield United have only lost once in 14 matches in the league, currently on a seven-game unbeaten run also.
Saturday's hosts have had less rest time ahead of this weekend's encounter, having welcomed Hull City to Bramall Lane on Tuesday evening, when they had to settle for a goalless draw.
Heckingbottom would have come away from that match disappointed that his side did not take all three points after dominating the game in terms of possession and chances, but they were not effective enough in the final third.
The Blades' defensive record is strong on home soil, having conceded just 11 goals in 13 matches, which could be important for Sheffield United this weekend to then go on to claim all three points.
Victory on Saturday may be enough to lift the Blades into the top six, and achieving that as soon as possible is likely to help their quest to secure a playoff position in May.
© Reuters
Russell Martin's first season in the dugout in South Wales has brought inconsistent results for Swansea, demonstrated by their 3-1 win against Bristol City on Sunday, which followed a poor performance and result against Stoke City.
The Swans had to come from behind on home soil last weekend, but second-half goals from Michael Obafemi, Cyrus Christie and Joel Piroe ensured that they recorded consecutive home victories.
Swansea have conceded 11 more goals away from the Swansea.com Stadium than they have done so on their own patch, suggesting that they will need to be clinical in the final third to overcome any goals they are likely to concede.
The style of football Martin wants to impose on his side is clear to see, with Swansea dominating possession in their matches more than any other team in the division, but they are likely to need to also find a different way of scoring goals to climb the table.
All 32 goals the Swans have scored this season have come from open play, suggesting that if they can find a way to start scoring from set pieces, their results will become more consistent.
The reverse of this fixture came on gameweek two of the Championship campaign, and the two teams played out a goalless draw in Swansea, with neither team doing enough to win the game on that day.
- W
- W
- W
- W
- L
- L
- D
- L
- L
- W
- L
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Strikers David McGoldrick and Rhian Brewster will both remain absent from the Blades' squad due to injuries, while defender Jack O'Connell, who has not managed to feature this season, will also continue to be sidelined due to a knee injury.
The hosts will set up in a 3-4-1-2 formation, with Chris Basham, John Egan and Jack Robinson making up the defensive trio, while Rhys Norrington-Davies and George Baldock will provide the width from their wing-back roles.
Morgan Gibbs-White, Conor Hourihane and Oli McBurnie are all set to face their former club, and the trio are expected to start on Saturday and provide a big attacking threat for the hosts.
Swansea centre-back Ryan Bennett is available for selection following his one-match suspension after receiving a red card against Stoke, but Manchester City loanee Finley Burns could keep Bennett out of the side after making his debut against Bristol on Sunday.
Kyle Naughton has not featured since the beginning of this month and he will remain absent, along with new signing Nathanael Ogbeta, who is yet to make an appearance for the Swans.
Striker Piroe ended his seven-game goal drought by netting last time out, and he is likely to be named in the starting 11, with Obafemi also expected to start up front for the visitors.
Sheffield United possible starting lineup:
Foderingham; Robinson, Egan, Basham; Norrington-Davies, Hourihane, Norwood, Baldock; Ndiaye, Gibbs-White; McBurnie
Swansea City possible starting lineup:
Fisher; Burns, Cabango, Manning; Wolf, Grimes, Downes, Christie; Paterson, Piroe; Obafemi
We say: Sheffield United 1-1 Swansea City
After two goalless draws in their last two matches, Sheffield United will want to get back to scoring ways, and they are likely to do so given Swansea's poor defensive record on their travels.
However, the Swans should take confidence from their win on Sunday and are likely to cause the hosts some problems with the amount of possession they are expected to have, suggesting that they too should be able to break the Blades' defence.
Top tip
Sammy Wynne
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Sheffield United win with a probability of 58.78%. A draw had a probability of 23.6% and a win for Swansea City had a probability of 17.66%.
The most likely scoreline for a Sheffield United win was 1-0 with a probability of 13.47%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (11.62%) and 2-1 (9.58%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.11%), while for a Swansea City win it was 0-1 (6.44%). The actual scoreline of 4-0 was predicted with a 2.9% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Sheffield United would win this match.
