Bristol City vs Sheffield United predictions: Blades can edge closer to top flight return
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- Bristol City have not won any of their last three matches
- United are unbeaten in their last seven games against the Robins
- Recommended bet: Sheffield United draw no bet
The Championship play-offs commence at Ashton Gate on Thursday, when Bristol City will be hoping to get the better of a Sheffield United side who finished 22 points above them in the second tier standings.
The Robins finished sixth despite drawing 2-2 at home to Preston in their final match of the 46-game league season.
They registered just 17 victories, although 13 of them were secured on home soil.
Sheffield United had a more consistent campaign but were unable to stay on the coat-tails of Leeds and Burnley, who both finished on 100 points in first and second.
Team news
For Bristol City, Ayman Benarous (hamstring) has missed the entire campaign, and Luke McNally (leg) has not featured since February.
Cameron Pring and Harry Cornick (both hamstring) are doubts, and Mark Sykes (quad) is not expected to feature in the play-offs.
Harry Souttar (Achilles) and Ollie Arblaster (knee) are out of contention for the Blades, and Femi Seriki (shoulder) misses out after suffering an injury in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at home to Blackburn.
However, Chris Wilder has plenty of options and could utilise Jamie Shackleton, Ben Brereton Diaz and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, who were all given a break at the weekend.
The stats
Bristol City are unbeaten in their last eight home games.
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Six of Bristol City’s last seven matches have featured goals for both teams.
Sheffield United have won on their last two visits to Ashton Gate.
The Blades have scored less than two goals in six of their last seven away matches.
Sheffield United have netted in 15 of their last 17 matches.
Prediction
Sheffield United came up short in the automatic promotion race but they appear to be the strongest of the four play-off participants and can make a strong start by winning at Bristol City.
The Blades have had time to prepare properly for the play-offs and performed at a decent level in recent matches, winning 2-0 away to Stoke and drawing 1-1 at home to Blackburn.
United boss Chris Wilder has been mixing up team selections to ensure the majority of his players are fresh and ready for the challenges coming up.
But the build-up has been very different for Bristol City, who have been putting all of their energies into extending their season.
Liam Manning’s side were far from convincing in Saturday’s 2-2 draw at home to Preston and they may struggle to cope with United, who took four points off them during the regular season.
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