Sheff Utd vs West Ham Bet Builder Tips: Rested Blades could be sharp enough

Sheffield United entertain West Ham United on Sunday, Jan 21st. Kick-off at Bramall Lane is 14.00.

The Blades prop up the Premier League, while the Hammers occupy a lofty spot in sixth. Sheffield have lost 15 of their 20 league matches, and have found the going very tough indeed.

West Ham on the other hand, buoyed by last term's European heroics, have made light of the loss of Declan Rice and are enjoying a fruitful campaign. They'll hope to continue all that in South Yorkshire on Sunday - but I doubt it will be entirely straightforward. Sport rarely is.

The match markets ahead of this one are as follows;

Sheffield Utd 12/5, Draw 23/10, West Ham Utd 23/20

Result - Sheffield Utd win 

For the visitors, Mohammed Kudus and Nayef Aguerd are at the Africa Cup of Nations, and Said Benrahma is suspended. Lucas Paqueta and Michail Antonio are not expected to feature, but hotshot Jarrod Bowen has a chance. He's been on fire, and will be sorely missed if absent.

As for Sheffield, Chris Basham, John Egan, Daniel Jebbison and Max Lowe are out. Anis Ben Slimane and Yasser Larouci are at the Africa Cup of Nations, while Tom Davies, Anel Ahmedhodzic, Auston Trusty and George Baldock wait to see if they're going to make it.

The start point for any betbuilder, and I'm not going overboard today with just the two elements, is; what do I see as the most likely, ultimate outcome? Well; Sheffield United may well have conceded the first goal in 16 of their Premier League matches this season. They might have scored only 15, and conceded 49. Relegation might look a foregone conclusion - but I'm taking them to win this one on Sunday afternoon and give home fans a bit of welcome comfort.

The rationale is that they should be nicely rested. They've had a little break since thumping Gillingham 4-0 away from home in the FA Cup on January 6th, giving 'new' boss Chris Wilder more time to get his message across. I'm sure he's delighted to be back where he did so much superb work, and with vocal home support they can record a hugely important morale-boosting success.

West Ham meanwhile have played three matches in January thus far, scored just one goal, and been dumped out of the FA Cup by Bristol City. It might, just might, be a good time to play them (famous last words volume 4,321).

Total goals - Under 2.5 

I've established above that most certainly Sheffield United couldn't be described this term as being 'prolific.' One goal will do here, and I could see that happening. 1-0 is my likeliest scoreline. 2-0 would be dreamland for the Bramall Lane faithful.

West Ham have absences, and this is a nasty fixture, no disrespect meant. An opponent who will be bursting to give their support some hope. To win every one-to-one, every challenge. Easy to say, far more difficult to pull off of course - but this is a fixture few would relish even allowing for the Blades' exceptionally modest points haul.

Wet and windy on Sunday? I could certainly see that. One of those 'but could he do it on a grim Tuesday in Stoke?' scenarios. Wilder will want to make life as uncomfortable as possible for the visitors. If there's any lingering, fanciful hopes of survival, a tremendous second-half of the campaign must start here. Now.

I'm thinking it will be tough, tight, and ultimately provide the northern United a victory over their southern counterparts.

Football betting tips, from Betfred Insights.