Sheffield United and Bournemouth are both eyeing an immediate return to the Premier League and cross swords in an intriguing Saturday showdown from Brammall Lane.
“The visitors have seen 13/19 (68%) of their Championship road trips pay-out for Under 2.5 Goals backers with an average of only 2.05 goals per-game”
Sheffield United move into the top-six
Sheffield United climbed back into the Championship play-off zone with a 1-0 victory over QPR at Bramall Lane on Tuesday night. Ollie Norwood scored the only goal after only nine minutes – his first goal in over two years – when slotting home from 18 yards after John Fleck’s corner was dummied to present the opportunity for the Blades midfielder.
Paul Heckingbottom‘s outfit, who are now unbeaten in 11 home league games, of which they have won eight, could have sealed victory by a wider margin. Star turn Morgan Gibbs-White floated a clever chip just over and whistled a low shot just wide after being sent clear. Rangers did waste a few chances of their own but in truth, United always looked cushy.
Speaking post-match, Heckingbottom said: “It’s a big win and I’m pleased with lots of things I saw. Any win when you’re playing someone around you is big. It gets even bigger at this business end of the season. I thought we played well and were good value for it. The only criticism was that we did not create enough chances off the good play we were having.”
Bournemouth beaten by Baggies
Bournemouth boss Scott Parker admitted the Cherries’ 2-0 defeat at West Brom on Wednesday represents a “bump in the road” in their bid for promotion, describing both goals they conceded at The Hawthorns as “sloppy”. The Dorset club were stunned by two goals inside the opening 12 minutes from the Baggies, and struggled to recover thereafter.
Parker made three changes early in the second half to try and force a way back into the game, but it came in vain as the hosts closed out victory, with West Brom goalkeeper Sam Johnstone not worked all evening. The loss leaves the Cherries second, still six points clear of third-placed Huddersfield, with eight games to go, two more than the Terriers.
Reflecting on the defeat, Parker said: “I thought overall it was two real poor goals on our behalf. Something we’ve not come to see. We huffed and puffed and tried to break down a real stubborn side, but we lacked that little bit of guile and that artistry which you need to try and open the door a little bit. When we did, our finishing habits were pretty poor.”
Bournemouth were 2-1 winners when the two teams crossed swords earlier this season and the Cherries are aiming to complete their first-ever league double over Sheffield United. However, the Blades are hoping to extend an impressive recent run in home head-to-head encounters, winning each of their last four games here against Bournemouth.
Sheffield United 2.506/4 have built their promotion challenge upon a strong record at Bramall Lane under Paul Heckingbottom’s watch.
The Blades are now unbeaten in 11 home league games (W8-D3-L0), keeping nine clean sheets in that same sample and conceding only two goals.
That includes an impressive W5-D2-L0 return when welcoming top-half teams.
Bournemouth 3.1511/5 enjoyed a club-record unbeaten start to the season, avoiding defeat in their opening 15 fixtures. However, the Cherries stuttered thereafter before finding a degree of consistency again from Christmas; Scott Parker’s posse have pocketed W9-D2-L4 in their last 15 outings and are the division’s second-best performing away side (W10-D4-L5).
The goal expectancy has been set at 2.55 for Saturday’s early start but with so much on the line, a potentially tight affair cannot be ruled out. Sheffield United’s aforementioned defensive figures at Bramall Lane should give the Blades a great base to work from and now 10 of Sheff Utd’s past 12 home league dates have featured Under 2.5 Goals 1.8810/11.
Bournemouth’s away days have also been relatively risk-free from a Cherries perspective. The visitors have seen 13/19 (68%) of their Championship road trips pay-out for Under 2.5 Goals backers with an average of only 2.05 goals per-game. At least one side has failed to score in 12 of those tussles, suggesting this match-up could follow previous trends.
All bar two of Sheffield United’s home meetings with top-half clubs under Paul Heckingbottom have produced a maximum of two strikes, and considering the magnitude of the match, a repeat of Under 2.5 Goals should give us a good run for our money. After all, the Championship is averaging 2.46 goals with 46% of matches seeing this wager bank.
Source: Betfair UK English Championship
