Relegation-threatened Sheffield United look set for a return to the EFL Championship after only just gaining promotion to the Premier League last season. Meanwhile, Fulham find themselves in the middle of the park and they will be hoping to find some form of consistency to help them break into the top half of the table.
The Blades, who gained promotion to the Premier League under the guidance of Chris Wilder got themselves quite busy in the transfer market in preparation for life in top-flight football. They recruited several talents including highly rated young centre-forward Cameron Archer from Aston Villa, Gustavo Hammer from Coventry, Vini Souza from Lommel SK, Auston Trusty from Arsenal, and Bénie Traoré from Häcken. Loanees include Luke Thomas from Leicester City, James McAtee from Man City, Ben Brereton Diaz from Villareal, Mason Holgate from Everton, and Yasser Larouci from Troyes while Tom Davies joined from Everton on a free transfer.
Regarding outgoings, Iliman Ndiaye and Sander Berge sealed permanent departures to Marseille and Burnley respectively. Bénie Traoré, Ismaila Coulibaly, and Femi Seriki sealed loan move away to FC Nantes, AIK, and Rotherham respectively while John Fleck, Enda Stevens, and Billy Sharp joined Blackburn, Stoke City, and Los Angeles following the expiration of their contracts.
The Cottagers had quite several significant additions to their team during the transfer window. Signing the likes of Nigerian attacking midfielder Alex Iwobi from Everton, Calvin Bassey joined from Ajax Amsterdam in Netherlands.
Former Wolves frontman Raul Jimenez also joined the Cottagers, Timothy Castagne from Leicester City while Adama Traore joined from Wolves on a free transfer. Fulham also got several players on loan such as Fode Ballo-Toure from Seria A side AC Milan, Kevin Mbabu from Servette FC in the Swiss League, Paulo Gazzaniga from Girona in La Liga, Joe Bryan from OGC Nice in French Ligue 1, Ivan Cavaleiro from Alanyaspor in Turkish League, Terence Kongolo from Le Havre FC in French Ligue 1 and Armando Broja from Chelsea.
Departures include Aleksandar Mitrovic, an integral member of their squad who was signed by one of the money merchants of the Saudi Pro League Al Ahli while also having to return players whose loan contracts had expired such as Cedric Soares from Arsenal FC, and Layvin Kurzawa from Paris SG amongst a few others.
This season in the Premier League, Sheffield United have yet to be able to get themselves going. After 28 rounds of matches in the PL, the Blades have only managed 2 wins, and 5 draws while going on to lose a whopping 20 matches. This poor run of results sees them sit bottom of the Premier League table with a measly 14 points tally. Chris Wilder’s men have the worst defensive record in the league, conceding 74 goals in 28 games while managing to score just 24 goals, also the least by any team in the Premier League this season.
The Blades’ recent form in the league is a fair reflection of how poor they have been this season with a record of 1 win, 1 draw, and 3 losses, their only win in this period coming in a 3-1 victory against fellow league stragglers Luton Town despite being second best for most parts of the match. Their triumph at Kenilworth Road was followed by three consecutive defeats at the hands of Brighton, Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Arsenal respectively before a spirited display at the Vitality Stadium saw them earn a point against Bournemouth.
Fulham occupy 12th position on the Premier League standings after playing 28 matches. Their record of 10 wins, 5 draws, and 13 losses make up their 35-point tally. The Cottagers are not a team who are shy in front of goal, scoring 40 times already this season but their defensive frailties have seen them concede 44 goals in return, leaving them with a goal difference of -4.
Despite lacking consistency all season, The Cottagers have managed to grind out important results in recent times, recording 3 wins, 0 draws, and 2 losses. A vital 3-1 win over Bournemouth was followed by a narrow defeat at the hands of Aston Villa, however, Marco Silver’s men bounced back to winning ways in style as they subjected Manchester United to a 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford and then followed up with a 3-0 win over Brighton before suffering defeat against Wolves at the Molineux.
Head-to-head statistics show that Sheffield United and Fulham have played 12 matches between them. The Blades have won 4 times (scoring 15 goals) while The Cottagers have won 6 times (scoring 18 goals) with 2 draws.
Match tickets
The epic match at Bramall Lane in Sheffield kicks off on Saturday, 30th of March 2024 at 15:00 GMT.
The magnificent 32,050-capacity stadium is the place to be for this clash between the bottom side and the Londoners.
Getting Sheffield vs Fulham tickets could take a lot of work given the standard of this game. Hence, you are advised to search ticket reselling sites should they be expectedly sold out on each club’s channels.
Team news
Line-ups
Injury concerns for The Blades include Rhys Norringhton-Davies (Hamstring), Max Lowe (ankle), John Egan (calf), Daniel Jebbison (illness), Chris Basham ( broken leg), Cameron Archer (calf), Anis Ben Slimane (hamstring)
Sheffield: Grbic, Robinson, Trusty, Baldock, Osborn, Hamer, Arblaster, Davies, Bogle, McBurnie, Diaz
Injury worries for The Cottagers include Raul Jimenez (hamstring). Aside from that, they have a complement of players to choose from.
Fulham: Leno, Robinson, Bassey, Adarabioyo, Castagne, Reed, Lukic, Iwobi, Pereira, Wilson, Muniz
Prediction
Sheffield United like to play in their half, mostly without the ball, they look to absorb pressure and then catch their opponents out of position with long balls on the counter.
Meanwhile, Fulham presses heavily from the front and looks to push the opposition back with sharply direct football when the ball is won. Judging by recent form, The Cottagers look set to edge this one.
Sheffield United 0-2 Fulham
