Friday sees the return of the Steel City derby as Sheffield United welcome arch rivals Sheffield Wednesday to Bramall Lane in what will be only the second league meeting between the two sides since 2012. Both clubs have spent recent seasons in the third tier of English football (League 1) but following United’s promotion last term – the two clubs are back in the Championship and have made positive starts to their respective seasons.
Skybet Championship – Sheffield United v Sheffield Wednesday – Bramall Lane – Friday 12th January 2018 – 19:45 UK Time
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Draw Best Odd of: 12/5 at William Hill |
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Sheffield United
Sheffield WednesdaySheffield United
The Blades have made a comfortable return to the Championship and Chris Wilder’s men currently sit in 7th place in the table – nine places above their local rivals back in 16th. United have only won 2 of their last 10 matches in all competitions but still sit only one point outside of the play-off places with 42 points from their opening 26 matches. Leon Clarke has rolled back the years for United this season – notching 15 goals in all competitions this term.
Sheffield Wednesday
Carlos Carvahal was replaced earlier this week by Jos Luhukay and the Dutchman looks set to hit the ground running here. Their form in recent weeks will be of cause for concern for Owls fans and their 0-0 FA Cup Draw with Carlisle last time out will do little to appease the disgruntled fans. Gary Hooper has been in sensational form this season – notching 11 goals for the Owls at an average of 184 minutes per goal.
Head to Head
Incredibly, these two bitter rivals possess almost identical records – United have won 49 matches whilst Wednesday have won 48 of their previous meetings with another 44 draws taking place between the pair – putting an extra emphasis on both sides to get one over their neighbours. United won 4-2 in the meeting between the two sides earlier in the season thanks to goals from John Fleck, Mark Duffy and Leon Clarke (x2).
Sheffield United v Sheffield Wednesday – Betting Odds and Predictions
With so much at stake, this game looks likely to be a cagey affair.
Under 2.5 goals in the game looks shrewd at 8/11 with Coral.
This could be an entertaining match between two rivals, with no quarter will be given.
The match to finish as a draw represents good value at 5/2 with Skybet.
Gary Hooper scored in this fixture earlier in the season and is in good nick.
Gary Hooper to score anytime is way overpriced at 14/5 with Unibet.
There is no love lost between these two sides and tempers can often flare in local derbies.
A red card in the match looks likely at 11/4 with PaddyPower.
Score Prediction
Sheffield United 1 – 1 Sheffield Wednesday – 6/1 with William Hill
Top Betting Tip Sheffield United v Sheffield Wednesday
This is one of the biggest fixtures in British football and shouldn’t disappoint – both sides look evenly matched though and they should cancel each other out. Both teams to score in the game and the match to finish as a draw looks a great bet at 4/1 with Coral.