Sheffield have got a few wins under their belt but Chelsea should be ensuring it’s 3 wins on the spin as the business end of the season approaches.
Team News (via Sky Sports)
Chelsea: The Blues are likely to be without Thiago Silva for the trip north.
The Brazilian defender came off during the first half of Thursday’s 1-0 win over Tottenham with a muscle injury and is a big doubt.
Kai Havertz and Kurt Zouma both missed the London derby victory with niggles, but could recover to feature at Bramall Lane.
Sheffield United: Ben Osborn is expected to return to the Sheffield United squad when the Blades host Chelsea on Sunday.
Enda Stevens (calf) remains a doubt and George Baldock will be assessed after a knock forced him off in the win against West Brom in midweek, while Chelsea loanee Ethan Ampadu cannot face his parent club.
Stats to know (via Opta)
Sheffield United have won three of their four home Premier League matches against Chelsea.
None of the last 15 league meetings between Sheffield United and Chelsea at Bramall Lane have ended as a draw.
Chelsea have lost just one of their last 23 Premier League matches against sides from Yorkshire.
West Ham and Tottenham have already won away at Sheffield United this season – the last league campaign to see three London clubs win at Bramall Lane was back in 1990-91.
Sheffield United have won five of their last seven games in all competitions (L2), as many as they did in their previous 32 (W5 D6 L21).
Chelsea have won 10 of their last 12 Premier League games against sides starting the day bottom.
Probable line-up
3-4-3: Mendy, Rudiger, Christensen, Zouma, Chilwell, Jorginho, Kovacic, James, Mount, Ziyech, Abraham
Score Prediction
Mark Lawrenson, BBC: Sheffield United 0-2 Chelsea
The Blades have shown a willingness to go for it in the closing stages of games and it has paid off – all three of those wins came thanks to a goal in the last 20 minutes.
Hard work is giving Chris Wilder’s side a chance in the first place, but I think in games like this it is Chelsea’s quality that will show through – especially when their players are still trying to impress new Blues manager Thomas Tuchel.
Quotes from the Managers
Thomas Tuchel: “We try to create performance and for that you have to be clear to each player what performance is – what I need to do, what the manager expects from me and why, what the team expects from me as a player and how we play together as a group.
“In the end, it’s like an orchestra so we have to follow a certain rhythm, discipline, speed and style. This has to be clear to everybody.”
Chris Wilder: “I know that they’ve replaced Frank with obviously a very experienced, world-class manager — that’s the standard of the football club.
“There have been a couple of players who have come out of the team and a couple who got into the team, but they still have world-class players regardless of formations and tactics they are going to use.
“I’m under no illusion, the players are under no illusion about who we are going up against.”
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