The Premier League's bottom two face off at Bramall Lane on Tuesday evening as Sheffield United welcome West Bromwich Albion, with the hosts hoping to secure their third top-flight victory in five matches as they bid to survive the drop.
Meanwhile, West Brom, who narrowly beat Chris Wilder's side earlier this season, are looking to do the double over the Blades for the first time since 1998 and claim their second away win of the campaign.
Match preview
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In what has been a difficult 2020-21 campaign so far, performances over the last week have given Sheffield United manager Wilder hope that his side can escape from danger.
After a surprise 2-1 victory at Manchester United last Wednesday, the Blades lost their eighth top-flight match by a 1-0 scoreline on Saturday, this time to Manchester City, although after limiting the league leaders to few chances, Wilder feels that their recent performances are "something to build on."
The Blades, who failed to win any of their first 18 matches in all competitions this season, have since won four of their last six games, including two triumphs in the FA Cup against League One opposition.
However, this slight upturn in form does not change the fact that Sheffield United remain rock bottom of the Premier League and are currently 10 points adrift of safety with 17 games left to play.
The Blades lost their last meeting with West Brom, who secured a slender 1-0 victory in November, but with Tuesday's visitors now struggling defensively, Wilder's men will believe that they can covert against the Baggies.
Sheffield United took advantage of Newcastle United's woes earlier this month, with a Billy Sharp penalty securing their first league victory of the season and claiming their second home win against a struggling West Brom outfit would help in their efforts to pull off a great escape.
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Sam Allardyce expressed his frustration after defensive "frailties" were to blame for West Brom's 2-2 draw with relegation rivals Fulham on Saturday.
The Baggies came from behind to take a 2-1 lead in the second half thanks to strikes from Kyle Bartley and Matheus Pereira, but Ivan Cavaleiro's late header earned Scott Parker's men a precious point at the Hawthorns.
West Brom have yet to benefit from a traditional Allardyce bounce as they remain in the drop zone, six points adrift of Brighton and Hove Albion who sit just outside the bottom three. The Baggies were in fact one point closer to survival before Slaven Bilic was sacked after their draw away at Man City in mid-December.
Since claiming a surprise draw away at Liverpool, Allardyce's side have picked up just four points from a possible 18 available, conceding a combined 20 goals – 14 of which from their last three home matches.
The Baggies seem to have fared better in recent weeks on the road, having come close to securing points in their 2-1 loss at West Ham United, which followed an impressive 3-2 win away at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
West Brom will fancy their chances of claiming a much-needed win against a Blades side who they have beaten in three of their last four meetings and with tough fixtures against Tottenham Hotspur and Man United to follow, securing points from Tuesday's clash could be vital if they are to avoid the drop.
Sheffield United Premier League form: LLWLWL
Sheffield United form (all competitions): WWLWWL
West Bromwich Albion Premier League form: LLWLLD
West Bromwich Albion form (all competitions): LLWLLD
Team News
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Sheffield United pair Enda Stevens and Jack Robinson are both expected to miss out through injury, although Ben Osborn could return to the matchday squad.
Wilder has used three different players at left wing-back in the last five games but in Stevens's absence, Jayden Bogle – who started the match against Man City – could get the nod once again ahead of Osborn, Kean Bryan and Max Lowe.
Striker Rhian Brewster, who has yet to score a Premier League goal for the Blades in 17 appearances, could be replaced in the starting lineup by top goalscorer David McGoldrick.
As for the visitors, Grady Diangana is West Brom's only injury concern for the trip to Bramall Lane as the winger is suffering with a hamstring problem.
Allardyce began with a three-man defence against Fulham but then changed to a 4-4-1-1 formation after just 25 minutes - a setup that he may decide to start with on Tuesday.
New signing Mbaye Diagne could be handed his first start up front for the Baggies at the expense of Callum Robinson.
Sheffield United possible starting lineup:
Ramsdale; Basham, Egan, Ampadu; Baldock, Lundstram, Norwood, Fleck, Bogle; Burke, McGoldrick
West Bromwich Albion possible starting lineup:
Johnstone; Furlong, Ajayi, Bartley, Gibbs; Phillips, Gallagher, Livermore, Snodgrass; Pereira; Diagne
We say: Sheffield United 2-1 West Bromwich Albion
Both teams, who have been together in the relegation zone since November 2, will view this fixture as a huge opportunity to close the gap on safety.
This could be the best time for Sheffield United to face a Baggies side who have conceded 50 goals from their 21 Premier League matches, 14 more than any other team in the top-flight.
With the Blades slowly beginning to turn a corner, they may have enough to seal all three points in what is expected to be a close encounter.
Top betting tip
Video prediction
Watch the Sports Mole Football Shorts prediction for this game below:
Oliver Thomas
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 42.25%. A win for West Bromwich Albion had a probability of 29.36% and a draw had a probability of 28.4%.
The most likely scoreline for a Sheffield United win was 1-0 with a probability of 13.18%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (8.29%) and 2-1 (8.27%). The likeliest West Bromwich Albion win was 0-1 (10.46%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.15%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with an 8.3% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Sheffield United would win this match.
