Sheffield United vs Plymouth Argyle – Preview | OneFootball

Sheffield United are back at Bramall Lane on Saturday afternoon as they face the struggling Plymouth Argyle.

The Blades are currently on a nine-match unbeaten run thanks to a gritty 1-0 win at Millwall in midweek, which sent them back to the top of the Championship.

Meanwhile, Plymouth Argyle have only won one game in their last ten which has seen speculation increase over Wayne Rooney’s future at the club. A 2-1 defeat at home to Swansea City in midweek certainly didn’t help things, and now they find themselves sat in 23rd.

PLYMOUTH, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 10: Andre Gray of Plymouth Argyle is put under pressure by Josh Key of Swansea City during the Sky Bet Championship match between Plymouth Argyle FC and Swansea City AFC at Home Park on December 10, 2024 in Plymouth, England. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

Transfer Business

The best piece of business Plymouth Argyle could do this summer was keeping Morgan Whittaker….or was it? After being involved in 44 goals in his last two seasons, the Englishman was being touted for some huge clubs around Europe in 2024.

However, a move did not manifest in the summer. And maybe now, Argyle are wishing they’d have cashed in on Whittaker so they would have invested millions into their squad. This season, Whittaker has scored three goals from 15 games, but his overall impact has been nowhere near as big.

Not selling Whittaker meant that Plymouth had to do business on the cheap. The loan acquisition of Michael Obafemi, from Burnley, is decent business for a club on a budget. But whilst the forward carries explosive power and pace, there have been question marks over his injury history. Thus far, the Irish international has netted twice from 15 appearances.

After spending time for Saudi Arabian club Al Riyadh, scoring seven times in 21 starts, Andre Gray became a free agent in the summer and Wayne Rooney snapped him up in early October. Since then, the veteran striker has racked up some very good numbers, scoring three times and adding one assist in his eight appearances.

Team News

Sheffield United were pleased to welcome back Harry Souttar to the back line in midweek after serving his one-match suspension. But, his main centre-back partner, Anel Ahmedhodzic, did not play a part against Millwall despite being eligible again, due to rolling his ankle in training on Tuesday. Ahmedhodzic may not be risked once more on Saturday given the form of Jack Robinson.

Additionally, Femi Seriki and Tyrese Campbell were both not risked on Wednesday night due to minor injuries. Both could be named on the bench on Saturday. Chris Wilder welcomed Kieffer Moore back to the matchday squad versus Millwall and he got a run out in the second half.

Chris Wilder may not wand to risk Vinicius Souza having been forced off with a hamstring injury early in the second half against Millwall.

Plymouth are without several players including their main threat Morgan Whittaker, who is thought to be out until at least January with a foot injury. Muhamed Tijani, Ibrahim Cissoko and Joe Edwards are out with soft tissue injuries.

SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 01: Gustavo Hamer of Sheffield United and Moussa Sissoko of Watford 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

Sheffield United can hurt a wounded Plymouth in various ways, but the main source of goals and creativity will undoubtedly come from Gustavo Hamer. Not only is Hamer a level above just about everyone in this division, Argyle have given up five goals and one assist from the opposition’s inverted left-winger in the last three games.

The Dutch midfielder can certainly cause the visitors all sorts of issues on Saturday afternoon and add to his nine goal contributions that he’s already racked up in the Championship (four goals, five assists).

Plymouth Argyle’s Star Player For This Game

With several attacking players missing, the pressure will be on the likes of Andre Gray, Michael Obafemi, and Ryan Hardie (whichever one starts) to lead the line and basically feed off scraps for most of the game.

Cissoko and Whittaker both being out limits their pace threat and their creativity in the final third. However, that may not matter to Gray at all; the Jamaican forward has bagged three goals from a total of 0.7 expected goals – he is scoring from very low quality chances.

My View

The Blades are going to completely dominate this game, and surely Plymouth Argyle fans are fearing the worst, given that they’ve conceded 12 goals in the last three games (40 goals conceded in total – worst in the Championship).

Plymouth Argyle allow for the most touches in their own box out of anybody else in the league, 34 per game – the only team in the league to give up 30+. On the flip side, United average the fourth-most touches in the opposition box per game.

Another glaring weakness in the Plymouth’s defence is their defending against counterattacks. Rooney’s team are the worst defensive team by far at defending in transition, giving up the most shots per game from those situations. Meanwhile, United are the joint second-best team in the league at scoring from those fast-breaks.

As mentioned above, Gustavo Hamer could have a big performance with his excellent passing and vision, and he can exploit the two big weaknesses of the Argyle team. His delivery from set-pieces could also come in handy; Plymouth give up an average of 5.3 shots per game from set-pieces alone – the worst in the league.

My Prediction

The Blades can maintain their top of the league status on Saturday afternoon. And perhaps another thrashing here could spell the end of Wayne Rooney’s time as Plymouth Argyle manager. Opta’s expected league position has Rooney’s team bottom of the league, and they should be five points worse off than what they currently are.

Sheffield United will be comfortable in this game and I’d be shocked if they don’t score at least three goals whilst keeping another clean sheet at Bramall Lane.