With only a handful of games left in the regular EFL season, Plymouth Argyle and Sheffield United meet at Home Park in a match which will have huge implications at both ends of the Championship table.
Sheffield United have lost form at the worst possible time and go into this match on the back of successive defeats which have seen them drop out of the automatic promotion places, two points behind the top two with five games remaining.
Plymouth go into the weekend propping up the table, five points adrift of safety and they cannot afford to lose any more ground if they are to avoid dropping into League One with time not on their side.
Match details:
This weekend’s Championship fixture will take place at Home Park on Saturday, with the game beginning at an earlier time of 12:30pm.
This is due to the fixture being broadcasted live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football.
Oliver Langford will be the man with the whistle this weekend.
Current Form:
Plymouth suffered a 3-0 defeat at Swansea City in midweek but they did win their last home game, securing a 2-1 win over Norwich City.
However, that was only their second win in their last 10 league games.
Sheffield United’s bid for an immediate return to the Premier League has taken a hit after 1-0 defeats to Oxford United and Millwall. Before that they had taken 13 points from the previous five since losing to Leeds United.
That run of form helped Tyrese Campbell and Chris Wilder scoop the Championship Player and Manager of the Month awards for March.
Previous Meetings:
Sheffield United claimed a 2-0 victory in the reverse fixture at Bramall Lane back in December, with Gustavo Hamer and a Kiefer Moore penalty giving the Blades the victory, extending their unbeaten run at the time to 10 matches.
The sides rarely find themselves in the same division so this will be the first time Plymouth host Sheffield United in a league fixture since December 2009, which the Blades won 1-0 thanks to a goal from James Harper.
Their previous meeting before this season came in the Fourth Round of the FA Cup in January 2021. Panutche Camara scored for the Pilgrims either side of goals from Chris Basham and Billy Sharp to give the then Premier League side the win.
Team News:
The Sheffield Star has reported that the Blades will definitely be long term absentees Brendan Galloway, Oliver Arblaster and Rhys Norrington-Davies.
However, Tom Davies and Harry Clarke could be in line for returns following injuries.
Plymouth are definitely without Maksym Taloveriov but it would not be a surprise to see Miron Muslic make further changes after he expressed his annoyance with the side following the defeat to Swansea on Tuesday night.
Key Players:
The goal threat from Plymouth is likely to come from forwards Ryan Hardie and Mustapha Bundu, who have netted 14 league goals between them.
With defence likely to be key, that will put focus on Bali Mumba, who has featured in 40 games in all competitions, the second most of anyone at the club.
Top scorer Tyrese Campbell, with 10 goals so far this season, and midfielder Callum O’Hare, who has six assists are likely to be the key figures for Sheffield United as they look to revitalise their promotion bid.
Prediction
Both sides are going into this one off the back of a disappointing midweek defeat and with Sheffield United losing their last two and Plymouth having home advantage they will see this as an opportunity to claim an unexpected but vital win.
However, it would be a major surprise if a side that has only managed back-to-back home wins once this season manages to do it against the fourth highest scorers in the division.
Sheffield United should get back to winning ways here.