Rock bottom Blades face matured Villans in a battle of Bramall Lane

A side that had a luxurious start to life in the Premier League last season, now find themselves rock bottom. Sheffield United now have the test of the high-flying Midlanders Aston Villa, who look to move closer to the formidable European spots.

For a club that was expected to go straight back down, Chris Wilder’s men finished 9th in their first season in the top flight since 2006/07, and at one stage were challenging for the European spots. But they have failed to recapture the graft and magic of last season’s antics.

Following their 2-0 home defeat to current champions of England, Liverpool. Wilder’s Blades now play host to an Aston Villa side that will be without two key players for Wednesday’s clash. Dean Smith had earlier confirmed that the Lions will travel to South Yorkshire without Matty Cash and Jack Grealish:

“He (Jack Grealish) won’t be ready for the game tomorrow; he’s not travelling with us. We’ll decide whether we can get him on the training pitch later in the week.”

“Matty Cash did some running yesterday, he was desperate to start some ball work, but the medical staff wouldn’t allow him to. After a hamstring injury, you have to tick a lot of boxes.”

However, Villa have held their own without the pair as they beat Leeds United 1-0 away from home, picking up their 13^th clean sheet of the season. Proof that with hard work and determination, results will come, even without such key players.

In the previous meeting between the pair, Ezri Konsa’s 63^rd minute header wrapped up all three points, sinking the 10 men of Sheffield United at Villa Park in the Claret and Blues’ opening match of the season.

The expected starting XI for the Villans will more than likely be the same side which starred in the impressive win at Leeds, causing an aggressive attacking side to be ineffective, Smith will be hopeful that his squad can put a similar performance in against the Blades.

Maturity has been an asset for the Claret & Blue outfit, with an average age of 24.7, one of the youngest in the top-flight, the Villans have been blossoming so far this season and will look to continue their recent success with the aid of youth. In their victory at Elland Road, Smith hailed this:

“There is a growing maturity amongst this group of players and they certainly know how to get over the line.”

Wilder’s side will also be down to the bare bones for the visit of Villa, with no expected changes and a number of key players ruled out of action in a time of worry for the Blades boss whose job is rumoured to be on the line.

Unfortunately for Sheffield United, they’ve been on the wrong end of results for a while, it is a crucial time at Bramall Lane as we canter on towards the end of the season. With a lack of scoring ability and leaky defence, the Blades’ two-year return to the top-flight looks to be coming towards the end.

We’ve seen great escapes before, but can Chris Wilder resurrect form and give a chance of survival for his boyhood club?

Seb Mannell will be at Bramall Lane as all the action unfolds on Wednesday evening.

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