Sheffield United vs Brentford

Sheffield United’s bid to overcome an embarrassing start to the new Premier League campaign continues at Bramall Lane as they take on out-of-form Brentford.

Sheffield United showed some resilience in their first Premier League outing following the sacking of underperforming manager Paul Heckingbottom but still succumbed to a 2-0 home defeat to Liverpool in midweek. Despite failing to arrest his side’s three-game winless league run (D1, L2), new boss Chris Wilder was ‘pleased’ with United’s performance, even though another scoring blank left them nailed to the bottom of the standings, five points adrift of safety. Except for a last-gasp 2-1 home win against Wolverhampton in October, the ‘Blades’ have gone winless in their remaining 13 Premier League outings this season (D2, L12), worryingly netting a measly nine goals across those fixtures! Equally unimpressive on the other end of the pitch, the hosts have conceded a league-high 41 goals this season, reinforcing fans’ fears of another disastrous result.

United’s disappointing run of three consecutive multi-margin defeats could inspire Brentford’s bid to return to winning ways after spurning an early lead in a 2-1 midweek loss at Brighton. Thomas Frank’s men have hit a rotten spell of form, losing three of their last four Premier League games, barring a 3-1 home victory over United’s fellow promoted rivals Luton last weekend. Things don’t look promising on the road either, with the ‘Bees’ suffering three defeats on their four most recent league travels (W1), all of which saw them concede 2+ goals. It’s been over four years since Brentford last encountered United in league action, but that’s hardly been enough to erase memories of a four-game winless H2H run (D1, L3).