Sheffield United kept their hopes of securing an automatic promotion spot in the Championship alive when they secured a valuable point in a 2-2 draw away at Norwich City last Saturday, and they now return to Bramall Lane to take on struggling Bolton Wanderers this weekend.
3rd placed Sheffield United trail Norwich City by three points but the hosts will be confident that they can take all three points against Bolton as the hosts return to home turf following back-to-back away matches which saw The Blades earn just one point after a 1-0 loss at Swansea City and the draw at Norwich City.
Sheffield Utd possess a pretty solid home record to date though with W8 D3 L3 scoring 24 goals and conceding just 13 in reply so far this season, and although they suffered a minor hitch with recent defeats to Leeds United and West Brom, Chris Wilder’s boys have since bounced back to record three wins on the trot against Derby County, Blackburn Rovers and QPR.
Such has been the great partnership up front with Billy Sharp (18 goals) and David McGoldrick (10 goals), that Wilder has allowed forward Leon Clarke to join Championship strugglers, Wigan Athletic on loan until the end of the season.
Bolton Wanderers still remain in the bottom three of the Championship after they were held to a 1-1 draw by fellow relegation candidates, Reading at the Macron Stadium on Tuesday night, and they now make their way over to Bramall Lane with just one league win from their last 19 matches overall.
That rare success came in the shape of a 2-1 home win over Rotherham United, but results away from home have continued to elude The Trotters as the visitors look to avoid a sixth straight defeat on their travels this Saturday.
Bolton’s away record reads W2 D4 L8 and scored 10 goals and conceded 24 in reply so far this season, and they’re without an away win now from 12 matches. The writing is very much appearing to be on the wall for the hapless Trotters who have kept just two clean sheets away from home all season, and they’ll have their work cut out to keep the likes of Sharp and McGoldrick quiet in this clash.
To make matters worse, Bolton have failed to hit the back of the net in 7 of their 14 away matches, but over 2.5 goals look to be on the menu here with Sheffield United doing the scoring in this encounter!