Swansea City vs Sheffield United – Preview | OneFootball

Promotion hopefuls Sheffield United travel to Wales on Tuesday night to face a mid-table Swansea City team.

Swansea City come into this game after being smashed 3-0 away at their bitter rivals Cardiff City. This hammering means they have conceded 11 goals in their last four matches.

The Blades have momentum in the league after winning their last two Championship matches, with the most recent victory coming at home against Norwich City last weekend where they comfortably saw out a 2-0 lead without conceding a shot on goal.

Transfer Business

Earlier on in the season, before the reverse fixture, I pointed out that Swansea clearly felt as though they needed to freshen up their squad. Six of the Jacks’ summer signings were 23 or under, and while they did lack the experience, the likes of Ji-Sung Eom, Goncalo Franco and Zan Vipotnik should bring new life to the squad.

Ji-Sung Eom has not had an impact at Swansea having scored zero goals and only making one assist. The South Korean winger has missed four big chances however.

Goncalo Franco, the Portuguese midfielder, while he has energy and aggression in abundance, he’s also got plenty of composure and precision to make Swansea tick in midfield.

Zan Vipotnik has been used sparingly thus far, but the Slovenian does have four goals to his name despite averaging 48 minutes per game.

Team News

Swansea City will once again likely be without Kristian Pedersen and Oliver Cooper due to persistent injury problems.

The Blades are hoping to have Vinicius Souza and Jesurun Rak-Saky back in the matchday squad on Tuesday night, even if it’s only on the bench. Chris Wilder was given a selection boost last Saturday when Femi Seriki and Tyrese Campbell both made the bench and got a sub appearance in the second half.

Unfortunately injuries continue to mount up for United and it’s looking like Tom Davies will be out of action for a couple of games after suffering a groin injury against Norwich City. Sam McCallum was forced off the pitch early against his former club, but that is not a serious concern due to it being a contact injury.

Swansea City’s Star Player For This Game

Liam Cullen is the danger man for the home side. He has nine goal contributions this season (eight goals and one assist), and he plays an intriguing role within this team; he operates as a deep-lying forward.

His movement is very smart, and this is something United will have to be wary of.

With Cullen, it is difficult to analyse his metrics on FBref because he really does play almost like an attacking midfielder at times, even though he is largely listed as a forward. When compared to other Championship attacking midfielders, Cullen ranks in the 91st percentile for non-penalty goals per 90, he also ranks in the 89th percentile for goals/shot, which essentially means he is scoring when he is deciding to pull the trigger.

When you compare him to other Championship forwards, those numbers aren’t nearly as impressive. But, he does rank exceptionally high in progressive passes, passes into final third, and key passes per 90, signalling his large influence on this Swansea team.

With Tom Davies being out, and Vinicius Souza likely not starting this match, Cullen could find plenty of space to operate from in the pockets.

Sheffield United’s Star Player For This Game

SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 01: Kwadwo Baah of Watford interacts with Sydie Peck and Oliver Arblaster of Sheffield United after the Sky Bet Championship match between Sheffield United FC and Watford FC at Bramall Lane on September 01, 2024 in Sheffield, England. (Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)

Sheffield United have improved slightly over the past few weeks in terms of creativity, but they are still some way off of being in the top six in this regard. But, this game I’m picking out Sydie Peck for the star player.

Simply put, Peck will probably have to have the best game of the season if the Blades want to come away with a win. Davies is out for this game. Souza will likely be on the bench if indeed he is ready to be reintroduced to the matchday squad. So, really, Peck is all on his own in a sense because this will be the first match where he hasn’t had an experienced partner at the side of him.

We all know the home side love to dominate the ball – it’s up to Peck to stop that. Whilst he puts in a real shift defensively, he is certainly not a natural ball winning midfielder, and his average defensive metrics is evidence of that.

My Prediction

Swansea City will either be out for blood in this game, or they’ll be feeling sorry for themselves, after being humiliated in the derby against Cardiff City. A loss against your bitter rivals is always tough to take, but a 3-0 thrashing is something else.

Do not be fooled though; Swansea are the sixth-best creative team in the division. Their issue is that they have massively underperformed their xG (-5.53, the fifth-worst goals vs xG number in the league) per Opta.

On the flip side, United’s defence has rarely given up huge chances this season, and even when they have, they have come up with a crucial block or a wonderful save from Michael Cooper.

Pace is the key for this game for Sheffield United, as their opponents are poor defensively in transition. For this very reason, I am going to go with a 2-0 win for Sheffield United to keep their momentum going.