Stoke City were amongst the favourites for promotion from the Championship this season after their relegation from the top flight at the end of last season, but the hosts have arguably been the biggest disappointment of the season as The Potters occupy 16th place in the second tier.
Too many draws have cost Stoke valuable points in this campaign as they’ve become the ‘draw specialists’ having drawn no fewer than 21 of their 45 matches to date this term, although 13 of these 21 draws were achieved away from home.
Just 2 wins from their last 17 matches overall gives an indication of how Stoke’s season has gone, and this sequence includes 10 draws, so the possibility of this clash with Sheffield United ending in stalemate has to be a serious consideration.
However, at their bet365 Stadium, Stoke have found winning matches a real difficulty as they’ve registered just 2 wins from their last 10 matches on home turf, and they’ll find themselves up against a Sheffield United side who hold the joint highest number of away wins in this season’s Championship.
Sheffield United confirmed their promotion back up to the Premier League following their 2-0 home win against Ipswich Town and Leeds United drawing 1-1 with Aston Villa, which sealed promotion for the triumphant Blades.
Sheffield United have lost just 1 of their last 17 matches overall in the Championship which was a surprise 3-2 loss at home to Bristol City at Bramall Lane, but the key difference with United’s recent results is that Chris Wilder’s side have gained 11 wins during this sequence.
The visitors also bring an eight match unbeaten run on the road with them to Stoke which includes notable wins at 3rd placed Leeds United, 4th placed West Brom along with victories at mid-table pair, Preston North End and Hull City.
In addition, The Blades have racked up 5 clean sheets during this eight-match sequence on their travels, and as Stoke City have also found goals hard to come by at home this season, the visitors look to be in the driving seat to capture all three points here in this encounter on Sunday.
Stoke are just marking time while Sheffield United are on a high and will be desperate to finish their season off in style with a win at the bet365 stadium.