Derby vs Sheffield United Prediction: Rams can make life tough for the Blades

Two teams at opposite ends of the Championship table meet at Pride Park on Saturday, as relegation-threatened Derby County play host to promotion hopefuls Sheffield United.

A massive 31 points separate the two sides, but the Rams will feel they might be facing the Blades at a good time (15:00). Read on for my Derby County vs Sheffield United prediction, featuring the latest match odds and team news.

Football Odds

Team News

Derby have been boosted by the return to fitness of midfielder David Ozoh and defender Ryan Nyambe, but boss Paul Warne is having to deal with other fitness concerns.

Corey-Blackett-Taylor is unlikely to feature, having suffered a hamstring problem in the defeat to Cardiff, while a similar issue will also sideline full-back Kane Wilson.

The Rams are expected to hand a late fitness check to left-back Callum Elder, as well as on-loan defender Nat Phillips, who has missed the last three games with a calf problem.

Matt Clarke rejoined Derby from Middlesbrough this week and the defender is expected to go straight into the squad.

There could be some new faces in the United squad as well, with Hamza Choudhury, Harry Clarke and Tom Cannon all moving to Bramall Lane in the last week.

The Blades, though, will be without their key playmaker once again, as Gustavo Hamer serves the second game of a two-match suspension, having collected 10 yellow cards.

Derby vs Sheffield United Odds

After six consecutive league defeats, Derby have slipped into the bottom three and are 5/2 to spring a surprise on Saturday.

Injury-hit Sheffield United are 23/20 to collect the three points at Pride Park, while the draw can be backed at 9/4.

The Blades won the reverse fixture 1-0 in September and Chris Wilder’s men are 11/2 to claim the same scoreline this weekend. A 1-0 Derby win is available at 8/1.

Derby or Draw – Double Chance @ 7/10

Six league defeats in a row is hardly ideal preparation for a clash with a side in the top three in the table, but Derby have had a tough run of fixtures.

Five of those losses came against teams in the top 10, with home losses to the Blades’ promotion rivals Sunderland and Leeds in the last couple of months.

The Rams lost by just one goal in those two fixtures and they will feel a return to Pride Park can inspire them to a much needed positive result.

Injuries, particularly in attacking positions, have hit Chris Wilder’s squad hard in recent weeks which has led to them winning just three of their last seven league games.

Although they have made some impressive new additions, it might take a couple of weeks for them to gel, highlighted by their 3-0 home defeat to Hull last week.

Over 2.5 Goals @ 6/5

This fixture hasn’t seen many goals in recent seasons, but the importance of this match and the number of injuries could have an impact.

Their last three meetings have been under 2.5 goals, including the Blades 1-0 win at Bramall Lane in September - when Hamer scored the winner.

Four of Sheffield United’s last five Championship matches have been over 2.5 goals, while the Blades have scored in 24 of their 29 league games this term.

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