Sheffield United are looking to cast away their underdog tag as they take on Crystal Palace in the opening fixture of the Premier League. While Roy Hodgson’s transformation of Palace from last season makes them the favorites for promotion, their hosts have lost several quality players over the summer.
Preview (Sheffield United vs Crystal Palace)
Since finishing second to Vincent Kompany’s Clarets in a fiercely contested Championship match, Paul Heckingbottom’s team has been depleted. The former Barnsley manager turned around United’s fortunes when the club was demoted from the Premier League in 2021. Heckingbottom guided his young team to 28 victories last season. It was six more than any other team save Burnley. This is despite a transfer embargo and other issues off the field. However, a bigger test is ahead. Sheffield United has lost half of its games throughout the preseason. They went scoreless four times, including a humiliating 3-0 loss to Stuttgart at home. Additionally, they have only succeeded in winning their first league game once in the previous nine campaigns. A dismal run that included seven defeats. These facts augur poorly for their Saturday return to the top of English football.
Although he recently turned 76, the former England manager signed a new one-year deal at his childhood club. They endured a 1-1 tie with Sevilla to end their US trip, which included a subsequent sudden-death shootout loss. Palace went on to defeat Lyon 2-0 last Saturday. It was their third friendly triumph of the summer. The Croydon club is prepared for its Premier League debut in South Yorkshire and will aim for all three points, especially given that they have back-to-back London derbies against Arsenal and Brentford coming up. Despite being defeated 3-0 by Chelsea and 2-0 by Arsenal in their opening league games over the past two seasons, Crystal Palace has never lost their first game in three straight top-flight seasons, and they won’t want to lose that record now.
Team News
Many of the stars from the previous season are no longer available. Sheffield United has added Anis Ben Slimane from Brondby and Benie Traore from Hacken. Before heading to Bramall Lane, the latter was the Allsvenskan’s top scorer. He has missed a large portion of the Blades’ pre-season owing to work permit issues. Eight members of the team that placed ninth in the 2019–20 season are available to Paul Heckingbottom. One of them is striker Daniel Jebbison, who scored the game-winning goal against Everton. He was just 17 years old during United’s most recent stint in the Premier League. Auston Trusty, who flourished while on loan at Birmingham City last season, joins Anel Ahmedhodzic as one of Heckingbottom’s defensive possibilities. Anel Ahmedhodzic also performed in the Championship and contributed six significant goals.
Will Hughes (knee) and Tyrick Mitchell (thigh) both expect to be healthy enough to participate in the first game of the season? Vicente Guaita, the goalkeeper, is reportedly unwilling to play in the preseason, thus Sam Johnstone gets the start. For Sheffield United to avoid relegation this season, Bramall Lane must be a fortress, yet they risk losing their first game at home. Last season’s Championship runners-up may not score on Saturday due to a lack of punch up front, allowing a very composed Palace team to win all three points.
Sheffield United 0 – 1 Crystal Palace
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