⚽Leeds vs Sheffield United
⏰England Championship, KO: 20:00 Oct 18, 2024, Elland Road
✅Leeds go head-to-head against Sheffield Utd on Friday. Read our Predictions and Betting Tips with Match Preview, Head-to-head stats (h2h) and Team Form Analysis.
Our prediction for this Championship match:
Leeds United take on Sheffield United at Elland Road in the opening match of round 10. The Whites shared the spoils with Sunderland before the international break, but they are still seen as favourites to beat Sheffield United on home soil. Both Ilia Gruev and Ethan Ampadu remain in the recovery room, but wingers Daniel James and Manor Salomon should be fit to face the Blades on Friday evening.
Sheffield United, on the other hand, did well to beat both Swansea and Luton at home before the international window to climb to second place in the standings. As the Bramall Lane outfit have yet to suffer a loss in the new Championship campaign, we believe that there is a big value in betting on draw. The good news for the visitors is that midfielder Oliver Arblaster has overcome his injury, but Tom Davies remains in the recovery room.
How the bookies view it: Strange odds for a tight game
This is a tough one to call so I’m surprised to see Leeds United as odds-on favourites at 4/5 with JLPH. Sheffield United look overpriced at 16/5 and the draw pays 13/5 by 888ace.
Highlighted Player (Oliver Norwood):
Oliver Norwood is a Reading midfielder who began his youth career at Manchester United. Norwood made his debut for the reserve team against Middlesbrough in November, 2007, but he did not get a chance to play for the first team. After ending his loan spell with Coventry City in 2012, the 180-cm-tall midfielder signed a contract with Huddersfield Town.
Oliver Norwood scored eight goals in 80 league appearances for the club between 2012 and 2014. Later in 2014 he joined Reading for an undisclosed fee and he made his debut for the Royals against Nottingham Forest on 23 August, 2014.
Norwood was born in Burnley, England and he has six caps for England U16 team. He played three games for the U17 team as well, but he then decided to represent Northern Ireland as his heritage is Northern Irish. Norwood made his debut for the Green and White Army on 11 August, 2010, in a 2-0 loss to Montenegro. He replaced Sammy Clingan in the second half of the match.
Recent head to head: Leeds out to make it three in a row
Both these teams were in the Premier League when they last faced off four seasons ago and it was Leeds who won both games in that campaign, with the clash at Elland Road ending in a 2-1 victory.
But Sheffield United have edged the head-to-head in the last 12 meetings, with six wins and just four defeats.
Highlighted Team (Leeds United):
Leeds United is one of the clubs that won the FA Cup. The Whites outplayed Arsenal in the final of the prestigious competition back in 1972, but they clinched the League Cup trophy as well. Leeds United faced the Gunners in the 1967/1968 League Cup final and it has to be noted that Terry Cooper scored the winner for the Whites.
Leeds play their home games at Elland Road and the capacity of the stadium is 37,914. The club was founded in 1919 and they have won three First Division (Premier League) trophies ever since (1968/1969, 1973/1974, 1991/1992). Leeds United made it to the Champions League final in 1975, but they were beaten by Bayern Munich in the title clash.
The Whites were impressive under David O’Leary. The likes of Jonathan Woodgate, Lee Bowyer, Harry Kewell, Mark Viduka and Ian Harte were part of the Elland Road outfit back then and they did well to reach the semis of the Champions League in 2001.
Players to watch: Gnonto a bright spark
Italian winger Wilfried Gnonto has been showing his class in recent games and his trickery will cause problems for the Blades. The 20-year-old is 19/10 at Betano to grab his third goal of the season.
Wilder has been chopping and changing in recent weeks but Jesurun Rak-Sakyi looks set to keep his place after scoring a match-winning double last time out against Luton. The Crystal Palace loanee is 9/2 at Betano to chip in with another goal from midfield.
Probable line-ups
Daniel Farke looks set to be without Ilia Gruev, Daniel James, Ethan Ampadu, Manor Solomon and Max Wober. A hat-trick for Spain’s Under-21s might see Mateo Joseph get the nod ahead of Joel Piroe up front.
Sheffield United’s Tom Davies should miss out again while Jack Robinson is a doubt.
Leeds United: Meslier, Bogle, Firpo, Struijk, Rodon, Rothwell, Ramazani, Tanaka, Gnonto, Joseph, Aaronson.
Sheffield United: Cooper, Gilchrist, McCallum, Souttar, Ahmedhodzic, Arblaster, Hamer, O’Hare, Rak-Sakyi, Souza, Moore.
Leeds vs Sheffield United Prediction
Leeds played a highly competitive 2-2 draw against Sunderland in the ninth round of Championship match-ups. They are now on a four-match unbeaten streak and their impressive attacking side which includes the Dutch striker Joel Piroe has netted goals consistently of late.
The team will host Sheffield United on Friday and the guests have a six-match unbeaten streak in the league at present. They have won five of those six matches. However, the head-to-head recordings are in favor of Leeds as they won the past two clashes against Sheffield United in a row.
Also, Leeds recorded eight unbeaten games in their total 11 h2h meetups against Sheff United at this venue. Additionally, Leeds won two of their past three league outings at home while Sheff United was winless in three of their past four road trips.
By the looks of things, we expect a win for the home team at Elland Road on Friday. Three of the last five meetings between the two at this venue had goals from both ends. Since they both have an unbeaten form, we expect this match to have goals from both ends.
