Aston Villa will host Sheffield United with a chance to go top of the Premier League table. The teams will play for the first time since the Blades narrowly prevailed 1-0 at Bramall Lane in March 2021.
Preview (Aston Villa vs. Sheffield United)
Even the most dedicated Aston Villa fans could not have predicted that their team would be sitting second in the Premier League standings and potentially finishing first at the end of the season, but Unai Emery’s team is still improving and has already shown early signs of a title challenge. The last six top-flight games have seen the Lions win five and draw one. They have won the last three by a margin of one goal. It includes last weekend’s hard-fought 2-1 victory at Brentford. Alex Moreno and former Bees forward Ollie Watkins scored in the final 13 minutes.
The only teams in Premier League history with a longer winning home run are Liverpool (24 between 2019 and 2020), Manchester City (20 between 2011 and 2012), and Manchester United (19 between 2010 and 2011). Aston Villa will be happy to be back home, where they have won a club-record 15 straight Premier League games. They have scored 39 goals, and keeping eight clean sheets in the process. Emery and company have defeated Man City, the defending champions, and Arsenal. The Lions will be confident in their ability to defeat Sheffield United on Friday. They have won their previous five encounters with promoted teams.
However, their perseverance was eventually for naught as the West Londoners defeated them 2-0. After rejoining the Blades, Wilder has lost his previous three games. He was defeated by goals in the second half from Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson. The Blades are now at the bottom of the table, tied with 19th-place Burnley and six points outside of safety.
Team News
Tyrone Mings, Emiliano Buendia (knee), Bertrand Traore (muscle), and Robin Olsen (unspecified) are still out for Aston Villa due to injuries; both Youri Tielemans and Pau Torres are questionable and will be evaluated before kickoff; the latter player missed the team’s victory over Brentford. After receiving a straight red card last weekend, Boubacar Kamara will serve a three-match suspension. However, Douglas Luiz and Lucas Digne are both eligible to return from one-match bans. Luiz is expected to start as a left-back while Moreno will compete with Digne for a starting position.
Watkins, has not scored in any of his five prior encounters with Sheffield United. He will be hoping to break through against the Blades on Friday. Leon Bailey will be trying to return to the starting XI at the expense of either Matty Cash or Moussa Diaby. Regarding the visitors, Daniel Jebbison (sickness), Tom Davies, Rhys Norrington-Davies, Rhian Brewster (all thigh), John Egan (foot), and Chris Basham (ankle) all stay in the treatment room.
But Jack Robinson, who served a one-match suspension last weekend, is eligible to play again and is predicted to take Austin Trusty’s spot at center back. Since Wilder’s return, André Brooks, 20, has started all three of the games. The midfielder may continue to start in the starting lineup with Vincecius Souza and Gustavo Hamer, with James McAtee and Cameron Archer supporting Oli McBurnie in the attack.
Aston Villa 3 – 0 Sheffield United
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