Sheffield United vs Derby County – Preview | OneFootball

Sheffield United return to Bramall Lane this Saturday afternoon to face a Derby Count team that’s looking to make it three victories in a row. In fact, both sides head into this fixture with two wins and clean sheets back-to-back.

The Blades comfortably saw off the challenge of Hull City last Friday night, although a wasteful first half performance in front of goal made things interesting in the second half before Sam McCallum came off the bench and netted his first goal for United.

Meanwhile, the Rams defeated Cardiff City by a goal to nil at Pride Park. All of Derby County’s wins have come at home, and a clean sheet has followed. Additionally, Paul Warne’s side have scored in every Championship game thus far – evidently they’re performing well in both boxes thus far.

DERBY, ENGLAND – AUGUST 31: Paul Warne manager of Derby County applauds the fans following the Sky Bet Championship match between Derby County FC and Bristol City FC at Pride Park Stadium on August 31, 2024 in Derby, England. (Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)

Transfer business

Derby’s transfer business, for a newly promoted team, was surprisingly good in the summer. They brought in a nice balance of experienced players and Championship campaigners like Ben Osborn and Nat Phillips, combined with some younger and more energetic players with an ounce of flair about them – players like Kenzo Goudmijn and David Ozoh spring to mind.

Goudmijn in particular is a player to keep an eye on. Although he is only averaging a pass success rate of 74% for a midfielder, he’s a bit like Gustavo Hamer, his countryman, in the sense that he is aggressive in terms of the passes he tries to make; most of his passes are played into forward positions to put pressure on the opposition defence.

Of course, I can’t end this segment without singling out former Blade, Ben Osborn. The versatile left-sided player has played three times for his boyhood club in the Championship and he’s currently averaging two key passes per game. The one-time promotion winner to the Premier League with United provides Warne’s side with plenty of experience, and as we know, he’ll give 100% every game even if it’s not enough.

Team news

Chris Wilder spoke to the media on Friday morning and confirmed that there are no injury concerns heading into the weekend. He also said that Sai Sachdev now has a cage around his broken leg and he stated that everybody at the club will be there for him to support him through his recovery period.

Derby County have a few fitness issues for the relatively small trip to Bramall Lane. Tom Barkhuizen, the former Preston North End winger, will miss the game due to a calf injury, having featured four times this season. Crystal Palace loanee David Ozoh is also sidelined for several weeks with a hamstring problem, after playing a crucial role in the team’s early campaign with five starts and a goal.

Additionally, midfielder Liam Thompson is dealing with a tight groin from training and is doubtful for the weekend, adding to Derby’s midfield concerns.

SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 01: Vinicius Souza of Sheffield United gestures during 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’s star player for this game

I have been very accurate with this segment so far this season when it comes to goal involvements. However, with my selection this week I don’t have much faith in keeping that streak going. I believe the star player for this game will have to be Vinicius Souza. Yes, United’s team on paper crushes Derby’s, but the Championship never works out like that, does it? And the Rams certainly have that sense of being a potential banana skin.

Paul Warne’s team have been dominated in terms of possession in all of their league games except for the opening day. In the other four games they have had less than 38% in all of them. Add this to some of the goals they’ve scored so far and it points to them being a counterattack-heavy offence, especially with their personnel. They have willing runners on and off the ball. Hence why I think Souza needs to be on top form on Saturday afternoon.

The Brazilian will need to screen the defence and mop up any potential counter opportunities that Derby pose. Being successful at this early could make for a very long day for the visitors, as the likes of Gustavo Hamer, Callum O’Hare and Oliver Arblaster could be camped inside 30 yards from their goal for large periods of this match.

Derby County’s star player for this game

As mentioned above, the Rams’ game plan will be to counterattack and one of the key chess pieces for them will be the pacey and powerful runner of Nathaniel Mendez-Laing.

Across five Championship starts, the 32-year-old has two assists to his name, creating three big chances and averaging 1.4 key passes per game. Mendez-Laing will likely be coming up against Alfie Gilchrist, and with the Guatemalan international being more than 10 years older than his opposite number, he could outwit the Chelsea loanee down their left flank.

The winger also provides a threat with his set-piece delivery, he set up two goals on opening night from corners.

My view

The script of this game is pretty simple; Sheffield United will have the lions share of the ball, they’ll probably have way more touches in and around the opposition box. But, Derby County will be a huge threat in transition, and they have some big targets to aim at from set pieces too. This sounds all too familiar to Unitedites as it’s the type of game that they slip up in, especially at home.

Both sides head into this weekend full of confidence, but in truth, it’s basically a free hit for Derby – if they lose, it was to be expected anyway – that’s why this fixture screams potential banana skin. Despite that, something seems different about this group of players, and although United have wasted some great chances so far, they’re carving opponents open in various ways and winning games in different fashion.

Since Anel Ahmedhodzic and Harry Souttar have partnered each other in front of Michael Cooper, United have given up just three shots on target – all three of them had a less than 9% chance of going in – in other words, the back line are restricting the opposition to pot shots from distance.

My prediction

Would I be shocked if Derby County won this game? Absolutely not, because I’ve seen this type of game play out far too often at Bramall Lane over the years. That being said, my confidence in this squad of players is only growing by the week.

I believe the Blades will start fast, get an early goal and will be able to deal with the Derby County threats. I think this is the game where Sheffield United show their clinical touch and they’ll score three goals or more whilst keeping a clean sheet.