The first round of the 2022/23 EFL Cup gets underway this week. On Thursday, West Bromwich Albion and Sheffield United face off at the Hawthorns in an all-Championship showdown.
West Brom have made a relatively low-key start to the season, kicking off the campaign with back-to-back draws in the league.
The full highlights from our first @SkyBetChamp outing at The Hawthorns in 2022/23. 🎥 pic.twitter.com/7tqUMzePVH— West Bromwich Albion (@WBA) August 9, 2022
The full highlights from our first @SkyBetChamp outing at The Hawthorns in 2022/23. 🎥 pic.twitter.com/7tqUMzePVH
Meanwhile, Sheff Utd have registered one win and one loss – meaning they find themselves one point clear of West Brom in the Championship table.
Let’s start by looking at the hosts, West Brom, who head into Thursday’s clash on the back of 1-1 draws against Middlesbrough and Watford.
Despite racking up 70% possession and 19 shots on Monday, the Baggies failed to claim all three points against the Hornets.
West Brom have failed to get past the third round of the EFL Cup in each of the previous seven seasons, with their last quarter-final appearance coming back in 2010/11.
The Baggies’ first and only EFL Cup triumph came all the way back in 1965/66. Can they end their long wait for the silverware this season?
As for Sheffield United, they reached the semi-finals of the EFL Cup in 2014/15 but have failed to make it past the third round since then.
On the opening weekend of the 2022/23 season, the Blades suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Watford.
Last time out, however, Sheff Utd beat Millwall 2-0 – with Iliman Ndiaye and Sander Berge grabbing the goals. The Blades notched 19 shots on that occasion, conceding a solitary shot on target.
Having claimed a 2-0 victory over West Brom back in February, the Blades will be confident of advancing to the second round on Thursday.
Head-to-head: Not only have Sheff Utd won two of their last three meetings with West Brom, but they have also won three of the previous five.
Three of the past five meetings between West Brom and Sheff Utd have produced under 2.5 goals, meaning we are likely to see a low-scoring clash on Thursday.
Team news: West Brom are injury-free at the moment, so manager Steve Bruce has a full-strength squad at his disposal.
By contrast, Sheff Utd will be without the injured trio of Jack O’Connell, Jayden Bogle and Oliver McBurnie on Thursday.
If the recent meetings between these two sides are anything to go by, the Blades should seal a low-scoring win over the Baggies.
Forebet predicts that Sheff Utd will score under 1.5 goals and keep a clean sheet on their way to victory over West Brom.