Sheffield United host Aston Villa tonight in their second of three consecutive Premier League matches at Bramall Lane within the space of a week. Having lost at home to Liverpool last Sunday, the Blades face Dean Smith’s Aston Villa tonight (kick-off: 6 pm), before hosting Southampton at the weekend. Premier League survival looks uncertainty as each game passes but maximum points against the Villa Park club would help lift confidence as the season draws closer to an anticlimax.
The Blades were thwarted with another defeat to add to their tally of woes when they faced Liverpool at Bramall Lane last Sunday. United looked good for a draw with keeper Aaron Ramsdale in splendid form and produced several splendid stops, however, the Reds netted two second-half goals.
Aston Villa was Sheffield United’s first away trip of the 2020-21 season. Having lost 2-0 on the opening day at home to Wolves, the Blades faced Aston Villa at Villa Park on 21 September. United lost the game 1-0 in controversial circumstances and little did supporters know that it would be along drawn-out season, and would have to wait until game day 18 to register their first league victory. United had lost defender John Egan to a red card on 12 minutes after he was judged to have pulled back Ollie Watkins as the last man. On 36 minutes, the Blades wasted a golden opportunity to take the lead when John Lundstram missed his penalty kick after Chris Basham had been fouled in the box by Matt Targett. It proved costly as shortly after the hour mark Ezri Konsa rose highest to head home after Tyrone Mings flicked on Jack Grealish’s corner.
Blades boss Chris Wilder has faced a huge issue with injuries throughout the season, with midfielder Sander Berge and defender Jack O’Connell missing the majority of the campaign through injury and are not likely to return any time soon. He has now added key defenders John Egan (foot), and Chris Basham (hamstring) to that list, making last season’s influential trio all absent through injury.
Aston Villa’s 1-0 victory over Sheffield United on 21 September was the clubs’ first game of the season and they started in good stead with that victory forming part of a four-match run with straight victories – which included an impressive 7-2 win over Liverpool. Though it isn’t a Premier League record victory for the 2020-21 campaign, with Southampton suffering a 9-0 defeat at Manchester United earlier in the season.
Dean Smith’s side has won three games in their last six Premier League outings, including a 1-0 victory over Leeds United at Elland Road last Saturday. They have also recorded two defeats and drawn once at Brighton. At the time of writing, they are currently ninth in the table and are dark horses for making a Europa League spot.
Aston Villa will be without four players ahead of their trip to Bramall Lane this evening. Star midfielder Jack Grealish is ruled out with a calf strain, whilst they will also be without Kortney Hause (ankle), Matty Cash (thigh), and Wesley (ankle) through injury.
Past Premier League Results… vs. Aston Villa
29.08.1992 – Sheffield United 0-2 Aston Villa
27.01.1993 – Aston Villa 3-1 Sheffield United
20.11.1994 – Aston Villa 1-0 Sheffield United
16.04.1994 – Sheffield United 1-2 Aston Villa
11.12.2006 – Sheffield United 2-2 Aston Villa
05.05.2007 – Aston Villa 3-0 Sheffield United
14.12.2019 – Sheffield United 2-0 Aston Villa
17.06.2020 – Aston Villa 0-0 Sheffield United
21.09.2020 – Aston Villa 1-0 Sheffield United
PL Record vs. Aston Villa
Home – P 4 – W 1 – D 1 – L 2 – GF 5 – GA 6
Away – P 5 – W 0 – D 1 – L 4 – GF 1 – GA 8
Total – P 9 – W 1 – D 2 – L 6 – GF6 – GA 14
Last Time
21.09.2020 – Aston Villa 1-0 Sheffield United – Premier League
Forthcoming Blades Fixtures;
*All fixtures are subject to change
03 Mar – Aston Villa (h) – 18:00
06 Mar – Southampton (h) – 15:00
13 Mar – Leicester City (a) – 15:00
20 Mar– Aston Villa (h) – 15:00
03 Apr – Leeds United (a) – 15:00
10 Apr – Arsenal (h) – 15:00
17 Apr – Wolverhampton Wanderers (a) – 15:00
24 Apr – Brighton & Hove Albion (h) – 15:00
01 May – Tottenham Hotspur (a) – 15:00
08 May – Crystal Palace (h) – 15:00
11 May – Everton (a) – 19:45
15 May – Newcastle United (a) – 15:00
23 May – Burnley (h) – 16:00