Aston Villa and Sheffield United meet in the last game of matchday 23. It is a Saturday evening kick-off at Villa Park and will be in front of a large crowd as well as the TV audience of many. It will mark the halfway point of Villa’s season whilst commencing a busy festive period of football.
The form of both teams belies their abilities and both teams could find themselves outside the promotion positions by kick off. Preston, at home to Nottingham Forest, and Leeds United, at home to Hull City, are most likely to have usurped the playoff positions. Ipswich Town could also ascend to a playoff position but they will need an unlikely victory at Molineux.
Aston Villa fans have opined about their team’s form but Sheffield United fans have more reason to complain. The Blades have to look at a point against the Blues last month for their last. Three defeats in December have resulted in a slide down the Championship table. Their last win away came at Burton Albion on November 17th.
A look at the “Away” table shows that Sheffield United have won five and lost six of their away games this season. One fact, as per Footystats, that will give Aston Villa comfort is that the Blades have kept a clean sheet in 9% of their away games whilst failing to score in 36% of their games. With Aston Villa’s 45% clean sheet stat at home, they will be confident that they can keep Sheffield United at bay.
One player to watch out for will be the much sought after Leon Clarke. With 14 goals in 19 appearances, Clarke will be dangerous if given a chance. Goalscoring is not a problem but not conceding certainly is. Goalkeeper Jamal Blackman has not kept a clean sheet since the middle of October. Sixteen goals conceded in ten games, including five at home to Fulham, is a worrying statistic for Sheffield United’s manager Chris Wilder.
In his pre-match press conference, Steve Bruce gave an update on the current injury situation. John Terry is training hard but could still be two weeks away from featuring. Andre Green is training daily but this game is a little too soon. Henri Lansbury’s injury will keep him out again whilst Josh Onomah is a doubt with a cut on his foot requiring stitches.
Needing goals and a win, Bruce must play a more attacking lineup at home. Scott Hogan must start, after last weekend’s failed experiment with Onomah, whilst Jack Grealish has earned his place just in behind the striker. Glenn Whelan’s place in the starting line eleven must be under threat after his shocking performance against Derby.
WHEN: Saturday, December 23, 2017 @ 5:30pm GMT / 12:30pm EST
WHERE: Villa Park
PREDICTION: 2-0 Aston Villa victory
It could be nervy for a while on Saturday evening. Sheffield United’s poor form and lack of defending ability should give Villa the type of game they need. A must win game before tricky trips to Brentford and Middlesborough.