Match Preview
Sheffield United vrs Fulham
Premier League Match Day 30 23/24 at Bramall Lane, Sheffield
Saturday 30th March 2024 KO: 15:00
Referee:
Tim Robinson (West Sussex)
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Fulham and Sheffield United are both looking to build on positive results, before the international break, as they square off at Bramall Lane in Saturday's Premier League affair.
Aided by arguably Spurs' worst performance of the Ange Postecoglou era so far, Fulham blew their London rivals to smithereens through a Rodrigo Muniz brace - his sixth and seventh goals from his last eight Premier League matches - either side of a Sasa Lukic finish, thereby sinking Tottenham at Craven Cottage for the second time this season following their EFL Cup shootout success.
That three-goal crushing two weeks ago marked a fourth win from six matches for the eye-catching Cottagers, who should enjoy a relatively simple cruise to the Premier League finish line as they reside in 12th position, just two points off a place in the top half and six further back of the European places.
A continental charge is therefore not out of the question, but Marco Silva's men have played at least one more match than most of the teams around them and head to Bramall Lane with just one win to show from their last 13 top-flight away games, although that did come at Manchester United's Old Trafford headquarters.
Silva's troops also ran out convincing 3-1 winners when Sheffield United paid a visit to Craven Cottage earlier this season, and victory at Bramall Lane this weekend would see Fulham do the top-flight double over the Blades for the first time in their history.
The Blades came away from Bournemouth's turf, before the international break, with a praiseworthy 2-2 draw three weeks ago, before the Cottagers hit a lacklustre Tottenham Hotspur for three without reply.
While a swift return to the Championship appears inevitable for Chris Wilder's basement Blades, this weekend's hosts silenced the Vitality Stadium on March 9, where Gustavo Hamer and Jack Robinson propelled Sheffield United into an unexpected 2-0 lead versus Bournemouth.
The travelling crowd would have likely accepted a point if it were offered to them before kickoff, but this one left a particularly bitter taste in the mouth, as Dango Ouattara's majestic leap and header cut the deficit in half before the wide man turned provider for Enes Unal to snatch a draw for the Cherries.
As creditable as Sheffield United's efforts were on the South Coast, the grim reality of the situation remains the same for the Premier League's worst-performing side, who remain rooted to the foot of the division with a paltry 14 points and are eight adrift of safety.
The Blades can take a small slice of solace from the fact that they have a game in hand on their demotion rivals, and the eight-point gap to Luton Town in 17th is not entirely insurmountable, but few are holding out hope of Wilder's troops pulling off the latest great escape from the drop zone.
Twenty-four goals scored and 74 conceded represent the worst Premier League metrics of their kind in 2023-24, and home has certainly not been where the heart is for Sheffield United, who have set an unwanted English league record by shipping at least five goals in each of their last four Bramall Lane battles in all tournaments.
Brighton & Hove Albion, Aston Villa and Arsenal have all had their way with the Blades on Sheffield soil in recent months, and Fulham ought to arrive in South Yorkshire confident of prolonging Wilder's home woes if their Tottenham trouncing is anything to go by.
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Fulham could complete their first top-flight double over Sheffield United.
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However, the Cottagers have only won one of their last 10 away games versus Sheffield United in all competitions, beating Chris Wilder's side 5-4 in the Championship in November 2017 (D3, L6).
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The Cottagers have won just two of their 14 Premier League away fixtures this season (D4, L8).
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Rodrigo Muniz has scored seven goals in his last seven Premier League appearances. Since the beginning of February, he has scored more top-flight goals than any other player.
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Alex Iwobi could become the third Fulham player to score in three consecutive Premier League away matches for Fulham, emulating Luís Boa Morte and Heidar Helguson.
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All six of Antonee Robinson's assists for Fulham in the Premier League this season have been from open play; the only defender with more in 2023-24 is West Ham's Vladimir Coufal.
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Sheffield United have won just one of their last 12 Premier League games (D3, L8).
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The Blades have suffered three successive home league defeats, conceding 16 goals without reply. In total, they've lost 10 of their 14 league fixtures at Bramall Lane this season.
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They have conceded 42 Premier League goals at home this season, only four short of the record for a single campaign, set by Watford in 2021-22.
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Sheffield United have conceded 74 Premier League goals in total so far in 2023-24. The record for a 38-match season is 89 by Derby County in 2007-08.
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Source Ben Knapton at SportsMole/BBCSports