Sheffield United and Bristol City will meet in the second leg of the Championship playoffs semi-final on Monday night, looking for their place in the final.
The first leg in Bristol was jam-packed with action, especially after the crucial moment at the very end of the first half of the game. In the stoppage time, Bristol City's Robert Dickie was sent off and Sheffield United was awarded a penalty, which Harrison Burrows converted into a 1-0 advantage for the Blades.
The second half of the game was all Sheffield United. After Andre Brooks and Callum O'Hare also found the bottom of Bristol City's net, Sheffield United increased their advantage ahead of the second leg to three goals.
So, Sheffield United have a huge advantage ahead of the second leg, which they'll host, but Bristol City won't just give up. Still, whether they have enough to at least make things interesting remains to be seen on Monday night.
How the bookies view it: Hosts favoured to win
Even if the first leg has gone differently, Sheffield United would've been the favourites in the second leg since they've done much better than Bristol City in the regular season.
In any case, Boylesports offers 5/6 odds on Sheff Utd to win this game, with the guests are priced at 14/5. Meanwhile, a draw has odds of 12/5 on Boylesports.
Head to head: Sheffield Utd with a clear advantage
After last week's 3-0 thrashing by the Blades, Bristol City are now winless against Sheffield United in eight games in a row. This season they've played three times, with Sheff Utd winning twice and one game ending in a draw.
Players to watch: Bristol City's forwards to struggle again
During the regular season, Sheffield United have managed to keep a clean sheet in 52% of their games and they've continued with good defensive performances in the first game of the playoffs. Not only did the Robins fail to score, they only had one shot on target for the entire game, so Anish Mehmeti and Nahki Wells, Bristol City's top two scorers this season, will once again have a tough time trying to break through Sheff Utd's defence.
Sheffield United's top scorer this season, Tyrese Campbell, also failed to find the net in the first leg, but the Blades still managed to put three goals past Bristol City. In any case, Campbell, who scored 10 goals in the league this season, will look to do better than he did in the first game and Boylesports offers enticing odds of 2/1 on Campbell to score.
Predicted line-ups
The hosts will be without injured Ayman Benarous, Femi Seriki, Mark Sykes, Ollie Arblaster, Sai Sachdev, and Rhys Norrington-Davies.
Meanwhile, Bristol City will miss Robert Dickie after he's been sent off in the first leg, along with a few injured players like Ayman Benarous, Josh Campbell-Slowey, Luke McNally, and Mark Sykes.
Sheffield United: Cooper, Choudhury, Ahmedhodzic, Robinson, Burrows, Souza, Peck, O'Hare, Hamer, Moore, Campbell
Bristol City: O'Leary, Tanner, Vyner, Roberts, Hirakawa, Knight, Bird, McCrorie, Mehmeti, Twine, Wells
Anything else catch the eye?
While Sheff Utd have a good defence and we saw them keep a clean sheet in the first leg, both teams have scored in the two previous meetings between these teams in the regular season. Furthermore, Bristol City will have to attack from the start if they want to even put a dent in the three-goal deficit they have, so we wouldn't be surprised to see both teams score in this game.
Another interesting bet to consider is a half-time draw at 21/20 odds on Boylesports. After all, five H2H duels between Sheff Utd and Bristol City before their meeting last week have been tied at half-time. Furthermore, it took a red card and a penalty in the stoppage time of the first period for one of the teams to have a lead going into the break last week.
This England Championship match between Sheffield United and Bristol City will be played on and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Sheffield United vs Bristol City prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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