Sheffield Wednesday welcome Sheffield United to Hillsborough this afternoon as the two sides get it on once more in one of the fiercest football rivalries in the country. With a single goal having arrived in the last four meetings between the two clubs, the fact is that these are rarely exciting occasions.
But today is another day. And both teams have plenty to scrap for. United will want to further their away form to jump back into the automatic promotion places, Wednesday will want to reverse their home form to go to within three points of the top six.
The Star’s sports desk are primed and ready for a busy day – and we’ve thrown down our predictions below. Happy derby day – and may the best team win.
Danny Hal
It only seems about five minutes since the last derby but so much water has passed under the bridge since. The Blades will walk out at Hillsborough outside the top two for the first time in a while and it’ll be fascinating to see how they cope with that added pressure on top of a Sheffield derby.
At this stage of the season every point is precious but the dropping of two in midweek against Bristol City has placed a bit of extra importance on this clash against the Owls; a four-point haul would have been attractive at the start of the week and now Unitedites would snatch your hand off for that. I’m expecting a different game to the November edition, when Wednesday came to the Lane and were structured and compact and frustrated the Blades.
At home you imagine they’ll try and play on the front foot, which could conversely play into United’s hands. The midfield battle will be fascinating and if United can nullify Bannan and Charles then they’ll have a great chance; the fitness of Vini Souza is crucial for me on that front. United miss him so much when he’s absent and his return from a hamstring issue would be huge.
