‘New’ kick-off time for Sheffield United vs. Millwall – prediction, team news, lineups
Aiming to bounce back from a weekend defeat and strengthen their position in the top two of the Championship table, Sheffield United will welcome Millwall to Bramall Lane on Tuesday.
The hosts dropped to second spot on Saturday and only lead third-placed Leeds United by a single point, while the visitors kept their slim playoff hopes alive with a home victory.
Match preview
Sheffield United head back to Bramall Lane on Tuesday aiming to make a return to winning ways in the final run-in of the Championship automatic promotion race, having fallen off the summit of the table at the weekend.
The Blades now find themselves second in England’s second tier, despite accumulating the most points in the division, with a two-point deduction leaving them on 83 from 40 outings having won 26 of those and only lost seven.
After heading into the final international break of the season in March having won seven of their previous nine matches and only lost one, culminating in a 1-0 away win over rivals Sheffield Wednesday, they returned to action at home to Coventry City and moved to the top of the league with a 3-1 triumph thanks to goals from Gustavo Hamer, Tyrese Campbell and Rhian Brewster.
A trip to Oxford United then followed on Saturday, and after falling behind to a 38th-minute Siriki Dembele goal, Chris Wilder’s side were unable to find a leveller and left the Kassam Stadium empty-handed.
Now sitting a point behind new leaders Burnley and one ahead of third-placed Leeds United with six games remaining and the weakest goal difference of the leading pack, Sheffield United will aim to put the weekend’s disappointment behind them and take a big step towards automatic promotion with a home win on Saturday.
Their visitors, meanwhile, make the trip to South Yorkshire in search of a second straight victory to give their slender top-six hopes another boost.
In mid-February, Millwall looked confined to a mid-table Championship finish with 42 points on the board from 33 games, but they have since moved into the top-six picture by winning four of their last seven outings.
After heading into the March international break on the back of a home victory over Stoke City, Alex Neil’s side returned to action in a tough trip to fourth-placed Sunderland and came away empty-handed, having failed to find a leveller after Trai Hume’s 20th-minute opener for the hosts.
Portsmouth then visited the Den on Saturday, and the Lions climbed into ninth place with a crucial 2-1 home victory, as Mihailo Ivanovic opened the scoring on the hour mark and restored their lead three minutes from time after Andre Dozzell’s leveller.
Now sitting six points behind sixth-placed Bristol City and fifth-placed Middlesbrough with six games remaining, Millwall’s playoff hopes are certainly reliant on a winning run to end the season, and they will aim to make it consecutive three-point hauls in Tuesday’s tough trip to improve those hopes.
Sheffield United Championship form:
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Millwall Championship form:
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Team News
Chris Wilder may opt to make several changes to his Sheffield United starting XI after the weekend’s defeat, with defenders Harry Clarke and Rhys Norrington-Davies and midfielders Tom Davies and Oliver Arblaster remaining sidelined by injuries.
He has options to freshen up the attacking unit with Callum O’Hare, Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, Kieffer Moore and Tom Cannon competing for starting spots, after Ben Brereton Diaz, Rhian Brewster and Gustavo Hamer supported Tyrese Campbell on Saturday.
Elsewhere, key midfielder Vinicius Souza was fit to feature off the bench after an injury layoff last time out, and he will compete to join either Sydie Peck or Hamza Choudhury from the outset, perhaps leaving the latter to compete with Alfie Gilchrist and Femi Seriki for the right-back spots.
Millwall head into Tuesday’s game without key defender Japhet Tanganga, who was forced off in the first half of the weekend’s win over Portsmouth with an injury, joining Danny McNamara, Shaun Hutchinson, Camiel Neghli and Ra’ees Bangura-Williams in the treatment room.
In his and Hutchinson’s absence, former Sheffield United man Ryan Leonard may come into a back four alongside Tristan Crama, Joe Bryan and mainstay centre-back Jake Cooper, who has scored five goals in eight Championship appearances against Sheffield United.
Mihailo Ivanovic will continue to lead the line, having moved onto nine goals for the season with his crucial brace last time out, while Josh Coburn will again hope to join him despite competition from Macaulay Langstaff.
Sheffield United possible starting lineup:
Cooper; Gilchrist, Ahmedhodzic, Robinson, Burrows; Souza, Peck; Rak-Sakyi, O’Hare, Hamer; Cannon
Millwall possible starting lineup:
Jensen; Leonard, Crama, Cooper, Bryan; Honeyman, De Norre, Saville, Connolly; Ivanovic, Coburn
We say: Sheffield United 1-0 Millwall
Sheffield United face a tough test in their bid to bounce back from a disappointing display and result at the weekend in their promotion bid, but we back their strong record at home and defensively to get them over the line against a Millwall side who head to Bramall Lane likely needing a victory in their playoff chase.
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