Sheffield United v Bristol City: Target McCrorie in play-off second leg | OneFootball

EFL Championship

Bristol City boss Liam Manning was frustrated after the first leg

Sheffield United take a commanding 3-0 first leg lead into Monday night's Championship play-off clash with Bristol City at Bramall Lane. Betfair writer Mark O'Haire is heading to the props markets...

Sheffield United v Bristol CityMonday May 12, 20:00Live on Sky Sports

Shefield United in commanding position

Sheffield United took a commanding lead against Bristol City in the Championship play-off semi-finals with a 3-0 win in last Thursday's first leg from Ashton Gate. The hosts had Rob Dickie sent off right before half-time with Harrison Burrows' first-half penalty giving the Blades the lead before substitutes Andre Brooks and Callum O'Hare completed the scoring.

Speaking post-match, Sheff Utd boss Chris Wilder praised his players efforts, saying: "It was a really professional performance, everybody played their part. I saw a glint in the eyes after the Burnley game, really focused, ready for this. I'm delighted we've a three-goal lead, but there's still a lot of work to do. There must be a full house at Bramall Lane for this team."

The Blades have received a triple injury boost ahead of Monday's match-up Femi Seriki, Ben Brereton Diaz and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi all available again after the trio missed the first fixture through a combination of injury and illness. All three were close to being involved and will now give Wilder another significant boost as he looks to book United's place at Wembley.

Manning unhappy after first leg loss

Bristol City head coach Liam Manning said he was "hurt" and "disappointed" for his side's supporters after the first leg reverse at Ashton Gate with the Robins chief particularly frustrated by the referee's performance, saying: "I thought it was a really good spectacle for Championship football and then unfortunately a huge error goes and changes the game."

Manning confirmed the club are appealing against the red card shown to Rob Dickie after the defender was dismissed for bringing Kieffer Moore down in the box. Joe Williams struck the bar with City's only real effort on goal, though the Robins' remained compact until the concession of two late goals has given the group a mountain to climb to Bramall Lane.

Williams was replaced by George Earthy in the first half and looks unlikely to feature with injury, but Manning is keeping the faith, saying: "We'll keep believing, we'll keep fighting. That's the beauty of sport if you look at the history of it there's been many comebacks. I know this group inside out, we'll be ready to go Monday and give it our best shot."

Blades odds-on despite 3-0 advantage

Sheffield United extended their excellent record against Bristol City with that first leg success - the Blades have now bagged six wins in eight recent unbeaten encounters against the Robins across all competitions since March 2019 (W6-D2-L0). United have also taken top honours in three of their previous four Bramall Lane battles with City (W3-D1-L0).

Sheffield United 1.95 put their poor regular season form aside to flex their muscles at Ashton Gate and with only six league losses across the season when excluding matches against the top-two, it's difficult to see the Blades surrender their aggregate position here. However, the hosts make little appeal as odds-on considering their position in the tie.

Bristol City [4.50] have tabled only four away triumphs this term as only five sides won fewer road trips than the Robins, whilst Liam Manning's men have now registered a solitary success against fellow top-six teams (W1-D4-L6), scoring just six goals in that 11-game sample. However, City did pinch a late point here as recently as March.

Target McCrorie at Bramall Lane

With little appeal in the major markets on Monday night, there's value to be had in the prop markets where Bristol City wing-back Ross McCrorie continues to make a major impression in forward areas. Operating in an inverted role down the left, the Robins ace has now had 15 shots across his last eight outings, scoring four goals.

McCrorie has hit the target six times in that eight-game sample and stands-out at 16/5 to repeat the feat at Bramall Lane. The price implies just a 26% chance of success in Sheffield, though the Scottish international is avergaing 0.49 shots on-target per-90 across his past 30 Championship appearances.

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Back Ross McCrorie 1+ Shot on-Target @ 16/5