EFL Championship | Gameweek 46

May 3, 2025 at 12.30pm UK

Bramall Lane

Sheff Utd vs Blackburn

Match preview

Sheffield United return to Bramall Lane on Saturday looking to end the Championship regular season on a high with a second successive win before the play-offs begin next week.

The Blades spent almost the entire 2024-25 campaign in contention for the two automatic promotion places and an immediate return to the Premier League, overcoming a two-point deduction to amass 89 points from their 45 games, but saw their hopes of a top-two finish evaporate after a slump in April.

Leading the table with seven games to go, Chris Wilder's side then suffered four defeats in five matches, only beating Cardiff City on Good Friday after three successive defeats, before an away defeat to Burnley on Easter Monday confirmed the hosts and Leeds United as automatic promotion winners.

The Blades then turned their attention to the play-offs, visiting Stoke City last Friday, and got back to winning ways as Sam McCallum opened the scoring in the first half and Andre Brooks completed a 2-0 win three minutes from time.

Sheffield United will be disappointed to have missed out on the top two, with a third place finish guaranteed, but will be looking to build on their momentum with a second successive win over the weekend before their play-off bid begins next Thursday.

Meanwhile, the visitors make the trip to Yorkshire with a lot more on the line as they look for a win to keep their play-off hopes alive.

When Valerien Ismael replaced John Eustace as Blackburn Rovers boss at the end of February, they were sixth in the table with 12 league games remaining, but the Lancashire outfit looked to be out of the play-off race altogether when they picked up just two points in their first seven games in charge, with five successive defeats in March and April.

However, they have since rekindled their top-six hopes with a fine run of form, winning each of their last four games since ending that run with a goalless draw at Sheffield Wednesday, and recording their first victories under Ismael against Luton Town and Millwall last month.

A 1-0 win away at fourth-placed Sunderland completed a six-point haul over the Easter weekend, before Rovers last visited Watford last weekend and made it four wins on the bounce with a come-from-behind 2-1 victory, with Todd Cantwell equalising on the hour and Tyrhys Dolan grabbing the winner 16 minutes from time.

Now in eighth place, just one point behind seventh-placed Millwall and sixth-placed Coventry City and two behind fifth-placed Bristol City with a game in hand, Blackburn Rovers travel to Bramall Lane desperate for another win and hoping that other results in the final day of the top-six race go their way to give them a chance of making the play-offs.

Recent Performance

Sheffield United Championship form:LLLWLW

Blackburn Rovers Championship form:LDWWWW

Team News

Sheffield United will be without defenders Harry Clarke and Rhys Norrington-Davies and midfielders Oliver Arblaster and Tom Davies on Saturday due to ongoing injury problems, while Chris Wilder could decide to rotate his starting line-up ahead of Thursday's play-off semi-final first leg.

Anel Ahmedhodzic could return to the heart of the defence alongside Rob Holding after partnering Jack Robinson against Stoke City, while Sam McCallum's goal last time out could see him retain his place on the left of the back four despite competition from Harrison Burrows.

Key midfielder Vinicius Souza could be rested, with Sydie Peck partnering Hamza Choudhury, while Tom Cannon, Gustavo Hamer, Andre Brooks and Ben Brereton Diaz will battle it out in attack after Callum O'Hare and Rhian Brewster supported Tyrese Campbell and Kieffer Moore against Stoke.

Blackburn Rovers should be unchanged from last weekend's win over Watford, with Owen Beck, Hayden Carter, Harry Leonard, Scott Wharton and Andreas Weimann still in the treatment room.

Yuki Ohashi will continue to lead the line in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Todd Cantwell and Tyrhys Dolan key men in support, the latter having scored in each of the last two wins to take his tally to seven goals and six assists in the Championship this season.

Elsewhere, Sondre Tronstad will once again join mainstay Lewis Travis in the engine room, while Danny Batth and Dominic Hyam continue to form the heart of a back four, with Balazs Toth preferred to Aynsley Pears between the sticks in recent weeks.

Possible starting lineup

Sheffield United possible starting lineup:

Cooper; Seriki, Holding, Ahmedhodzic, McCallum; Peck, Choudhury; Brooks, Brewster; Cannon, Moore

Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:

Toth; Brittain, Hyam, Batth, Ribeiro; Travis, Tronstad; Dolan, Cantwell, Hedges; Ohashi