Sheffield United host Brighton and Hove Albion in the FA Cup tomorrow afternoon and they will look to book their place in the next round of the competition with a win at home.
They have an impressive record against the Seagulls and it remains to be seen whether they can grind out a positive result here. They managed to grind out a draw against West Ham in their last league game and that will have given them some confidence boost.
Meanwhile, Brighton will look to fix their poor head-to-head record against Sheffield United and it will be interesting to see if they can grind out an away win here.
They are unbeaten in their last five matches across all competitions and they are certainly the better team on paper as well.
Team news and tactics
Sheffield United
The home team are without Chris Basham and Max Lowe because of injuries.
Rhian Brewseter is suspended after the late red card against West Ham.
Sheffield United will shape up in their usual 4-5-1 formation with Wes Foderingham in goal.
Jayden Bogle and Rhys Norrington-Davies will start as the fullbacks and they will look to keep things compact at the back and help out in the attack.
Anel Ahmedhodzic will start in central defence along with Auston Trusty.
James McAtee and Ben Brereton will start in the wide areas. They will look to protect the full backs and help out in the attack. In the midfield, Andre Brooks will start alongside Vinicius Souza and Gustavo Hamer.
Oliver McBurnie will lead the line for Sheffield United here.
Probable Lineup (4-5-1): Foderingham; Bogle, Ahmedhodzic, Trusty, Norrington-Davies; McAtee, Brooks, Souza, Hamer, Brereton; McBurnie
Brighton
The away side will be without Ansu Fati, Joel Veltman, Kaoru Mitoma, Simon Adingra and Solly March because of injuries. Bart Verbruggen will start in goal for Brighton here.
Jack Hinshelwood and Pervis Estupinan will be deployed as the full backs. They will help out defensively and contribute during counter attacks as well.
Jan Paul van Hecke will start in central defence alongside Lewis Dunk.
In the midfield three, Pascal Gross will start alongside Billy Gilmour and Adam Lallana. While Gilmour will look to protect the side defensively, Gross and Lallana will look to add creativity and drive.
Evan Ferguson will lead the line for Brighton here with Facundo Buonanotte and Joao Pedro on either side of him.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Verbruggen; Hinshelwood, Hecke, Dunk, Estupinan; Lallana, Gross, Gilmour; Bounanotte, Ferguson, Pedro
Key Stats
- Sheffield United are undefeated in their last 7 matches against Brighton in all competitions.
- 12 goals have been scored in the last six meetings between these two sides.
- Brighton are unbeaten in the last five matches across all competitions.
- Sheffield United have picked up just one way from the last six matches across all competitions.
Joao Pedro
The 22-year-old Brazilian is our key player to watch out for. He has been an impressive form this season scoring 15 goals across all competitions.
He will look to open up the Sheffield United defence with his movement and trickery. He will be expected to score and create goal scoring opportunities for his teammates.
Prediction
Sheffield United 1-2 Brighton
Although Brighton have failed to win any of their last six meetings against Sheffield United, they will be the favourites to win here. They have been very difficult to beat in their last few outings and they should be able to grind out the narrow win here.
This is likely to be a close contest but Sheffield United are currently lacking in the quality and depth required to beat the Seagulls.
