Championship | Gameweek 23

Dec 26, 2024 at 3pm UK

Bramall Lane (Sheffield)

Sheffield United vs Burnley

Match preview

Sheffield United are going into Boxing Day hoping to stretch their lead at the top of the Championship table even further. They've had an impressive start to the season since they came back to England's second tier.

Chris Wilder's team are gunning for an immediate promotion back to the Premier League, and they've bounced back from a two-point deduction by sitting pretty at the top of the division on 48 points from 22 games. They've won 15 of those and only suffered two defeats.

Their home record is almost perfect, with only two points dropped in 10 games at Bramall Lane. They've also won the last nine without conceding a single goal.

After losing two league games in a row in October, the Blades have now not lost in 11 league games, winning nine of those. Most recently, they beat Plymouth Argyle 2-0 at home and drew with Cardiff City 2-0, with Kieffer Moore scoring twice in the second half.

Sheffield United are currently sitting pretty at the top of the table, three points ahead of Thursday's visitors, and four ahead of them after conceding only 11 goals in 22 games. They'll be looking to strengthen their promotion bid at the halfway point of the campaign with a fourth straight league win on Boxing Day.

But it won't be easy. The visitors are coming up to South Yorkshire hoping to break into the automatic promotion spots and extend their own fine run of form.

Burnley, who also want to get back into the Premier League this season, are currently third with 44 points from 22 games, mainly because they've only let in nine goals so far.

Since they suffered just their second league defeat of the season in early November, the Clarets have now not lost in nine Championship games and have won three away games in a row, most recently when they visited Norwich City and came from behind to win 2-1 thanks to goals from Zian Flemming and Josh Brownhill in the last 25 minutes.

Then on Saturday, Scott Parker's team met Watford at Turf Moor and got another 2-1 victory, after going 2-0 up thanks to goals from Jaidon Anthony and Brownhill. They held strong for the last 10 minutes after Kwadwo Baah scored a goal for the visitors.

Now they're back in action, just one point ahead of second-placed Leeds United and four points behind their hosts at the top of the table, Burnley will be aiming for a third win in a row and an 10th unbeaten game to get them closer to the top spot.

Recent Performance

Sheffield United Championship form:WWDWWW

Burnley Championship form:WWDDWW

Team News

Sheffield United will still be without defender Femi Seriki, midfielder Oliver Arblaster and attacker Tyrese Campbell on Thursday because of injury problems. However, they might have Anel Ahmedhodzic and Vinicius Souza back at the back and in midfield.

Jack Robinson and Harry Souttar might continue in the middle of the defence if Ahmedhodzic isn't fit to start, while Souza will hope to rejoin either Tom Davies or Sydie Peck, who've partnered up in the engine room for the Blades' last two outings, which were a pair of 2-0 wins.

Kieffer Moore will continue to lead the line, having scored two goals last time when he first started again after being injured, which takes him to five league goals this season. Meanwhile, Gustavo Hamer, Callum O'Hare and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi will hope to carry on supporting the team, even though they are up against Rhian Brewster and Andre Brooks.

Burnley are still dealing with a bunch of injuries, with Jordan Beyer, Aaron Ramsey, Lyle Foster, Manuel Benson and Jeremy Sarmiento likely to stay in the treatment room.

Jay Rodriguez and Zian Flemming will compete to lead the line in their 4-2-3-1 setup, while Luca Koleosho could return to join Josh Brownhill and Jaidon Anthony in support, after the pair both got on the scoresheet last weekend leaving Brownhill on eight goals for the season.

Behind them, Josh Laurent will continue to join Josh Cullen in the engine room, while Connor Roberts, CJ Egan-Riley, Maxime Esteve and Bashir Humphreys should again line up in a back four despite competition from Joe Worrall and former Sheffield United captain John Egan.

Possible starting lineup

Sheffield United possible starting lineup:

Cooper; Gilchrist, Souttar, Robinson, Burrows; Souza, Davies; Rak-Sakyi, O'Hare, Hamer; Moore

Burnley possible starting lineup:

Trafford; Roberts, Egan-Riley, Esteve, Humphreys; Cullen, Laurent; Anthony, Brownhill, Koleosho; Flemming