Sheffield United and Paul Heckingbottom will host Hull City tonight at Bramall Lane in what could be another gripping Yorkshire Derby The Blades will be looking to earn three points as they mount a challenge on reaching the top six, whilst Hull will be looking to steer themselves away from the bottom three.
This fixture had originally been scheduled to take place on 29th December, but an outbreak of COVID-19 in the Hull camp meant that the game had to be postponed.
The Blades come into this fixture in excellent form with one defeat in their last twelve Championship outings, in which they recorded eight victories. However, they were fortunate to escape their last outing with a 0-0 draw following a fierce Yorkshire Derby at Huddersfield Town, after the hosts were denied (what looked) a perfectly legitimate goal that was ruled out by the officials.
A victory in tonight’s match for Sheffield United would see them go to joint sixth place with Middlesbrough unless United are victorious by a margin of more than three goals!
Blades boss Paul Heckingbottom comes into this game without strikers Rhian Brewster (hamstring), and David McGoldrick (thigh), at his disposal.
Sheffield United and Hull City have already played each other this season. Their last meeting was on 18th September at the KCOM Stadium, where the Blades rounded off a fabulous week under former boss Slavisa Jokanovic. After producing a 6-2 victory against Peterborough United, the Blades drew 2-2 with Preston, and their 3-1 victory at Hull saw United score eleven goals in three games. United had stormed into a three-goal lead through Billy Sharp on 17 minutes and a brace of headers from John Egan on 50 and 61 minutes.
Hull City, managed by Grant McCann, come into this fixture following three consecutive defeats, having lost to Preston North End, Derby County, and Fulham in recent weeks, and they find themselves currently nineteenth in the table but are twelve points ahead of the drop zone. The Tigers will be aiming to pull out more points before the season draws to a close and not find themselves sucked into a last-minute relegation battle.
They are expected to be without defender Jos Emmanuel (leg), midfielder Andy Cannon (ankle), as well as former Leeds United and Barnsley striker Mallik Wilks (ankle), who are all absent through injury. Meanwhile, Tom Eaves (knock), and Allahyar Sayyadmanesh (groin) are doubtful and may be fit to face the Blades.
The Blades could see their former Academy starlets, Tyler Smith, and Regan Slater line-up against them. Smith, 22 joined the KCOM club on 27 August after completing a permanent transfer from the Blades. He has managed one goal (against Everton in the FA Cup), in the 19 appearances he has made for the Tigers. Elsewhere, Slater joined the Humberside club in an undisclosed fee last month and has made two appearances for his new club this season.
Last Six Meetings
04.11.2017 – Sheffield United 4-1 Hull City (Championship)
23.02.2018 – Hull City 1-0 Sheffield United (Championship)
14.08.2018 – Sheffield United 1-1 Hull City* (League Cup Rd1)
06.10.2018 – Sheffield United 1-0 Hull City (Championship)
22.04.2019 – Hull City 0-3 Sheffield United (Championship)
18.09.2021 – Hull City 1-3 Sheffield United (Championship)
*lost 5-4 on penalties