West Brom v Sheffield United: Back defences to be on top at The Hawthorns | OneFootball

EFL Championship

Carlos Corberan is under pressure

Promotion-chasing pair West Brom and Sheffield United clash at The Hawthorns on Sunday. Betfair writer Mark O'Haire is backing a low-scoring affair.

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Back Bukayo Saka to have one or more shots on target and to be fouled one or more times when the Gunners travel to Craven Cottage on Sunday. The Arseanl star has had six shots on target in his last four games and he's been fouled at least once in each of his last seven.

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West Brom v Sheffield UnitedSunday December 8, 15:00Live on Sky Sports

West Brom draw again

Draw specialists West Brom played out a ninth stalemate in a 10-match unbeaten Championship run (W1-D9-L0) after sharing the spoils 1-1 at Preston last weekend.

Albion looked on course for victory after Karlan Grant's well-worked early first-half goal - but the Lilywhites levelled 10 minutes into the second half of a low-quality contest.

Carlos Corberan's side stay seventh in the second-tier standings, although the Baggies have now dropped 10 points off the summit, having been top of the table two months ago following an unbeaten six-game start to the season.

Understandably, supporters have grown frustrated with the full-time whistle at Preston greeted by boos from travelling fans.

Corberan believes all at Albion must take responsibility to drag the club out of their recent run, saying: "I can understand the frustrations of the people. I respect what the fans are saying, but I make the decisions that I consider to be right.

My motivation is always to work to win games, and I know the difficulty we are having. But we must all take responsibility."

Blades go top

Substitute Tom Davies scored a late winner to send Sheffield United top of the table as they beat Sunderland 1-0 at Bramall Lane last Friday, a match where both teams played most of the match with 10 men.

An action-packed first half saw Blades keeper Michael Cooper save a penalty, whilst centre-halves Harry Souttar and Chris Mepham were both sent off.

Sheff Utd chief Christ Wilder was full of praise for players, saying, "The last 25 minutes, there was only one team that looked like winning.

We were outstanding and the fitness levels were amazing. We needed to control the middle and, when we did, I thought we were good. I always felt there was a winner inside us - I never felt like they were going to score."

Souttar is now suspended for Sunday's trip to The Hawthorns, handing Wilder a serious selection headache with Anel Ahmedhodzic serving the last match of his own ban.

Jack Robinson could be partnered by Alfie Gilchrist here with Femi Seriki at right-back, whilst Rhys Norrington-Davies could also play in the middle of the defence if called upon.

Albion difficult to oust

West Brom have lost four of their last five meetings with Sheffield United - the Blades did the double over Albion in 2022/23, winning both contests by the same 2-0 scoreline - though the Baggies have tabled two triumphs in their last three when welcoming Sheff Utd to The Hawthorns.

Six of the last seven match-ups have delivered at least one clean sheet.

West Brom 2.60 are traditionally tough opponents at The Hawthorns, boasting a W17-D9-L5 return here since the start of last season, recording a hugely-impressive 18 (59%) clean sheets.

However, Albion have only averaged 1.35 goals in that same sample and are generating just 1.24 Expected Goals (xG) this term, leading to a collection of stalemates.

Sheffield United 2.98 have built their league-leading position on a formidable home record with the Blades a little less reliable on the road (W4-D3-L2). The visitors have posted W1-D1-L2 when travelling to top-10 teams and are surprisingly rated as low as 12th in the away Expected Points (xP) rankings, with 16 teams generating a better away xG return.

BTTS - 'No' stands out

Coming into this weekend's matches, Both Teams To Score 'No' has banked in only 52% of Championship matches this season with West Brom and Sheffield United heavy contributors to that figure due to their excellent defensive data.

The duo have combined to keep 21 (58%) clean sheets in their 36 league fixtures, leading to 22/38 (61%) winning BTTS No wagers in Albion and Blades games.

A repeat therefore has to be considered here with Both Teams To Score 'No' the outsider in the market at 9/10. A massive seven of West Brom's eight Hawthorns encounters have paid-out for BTTS No backers - as have 68% of their home dates since the start of last season, whilst six of Sheff Utd's nine road trips this term have followed suit.

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Mark O’Haire says: Back Both Teams To Score ‘No’ @ 9/10