Prediction: West Ham vs Sheffield United

Prediction: Draw

Best Odds: 5/2

Bookmaker: bet365

The Premier League is back in our lives once again, starting with Friday Night Football later tonight. If we look ahead to the immediate future, however, there are plenty of other games littered throughout the weekend that should be quite a lot of fun. One such example is West Ham United vs Sheffield United, which is a fixture that hasn’t been played all that often over the course of the last decade or so. Despite that, the overwhelming tension from the Carlos Tevez debacle is still painfully evident to see.

West Ham United

After starting off the season pretty brightly West Ham seem to have fallen off the edge of a cliff a little bit in recent weeks – and even that may be a little bit polite of us to say. Manuel Pellegrini needs to steady the ship in some way, shape or form, because if he doesn’t, they could continue to drop like a stone. They’ve got the squad necessary to solidify themselves as a top half team, and if they can pick up a few key results, then perhaps they can push that even further.

Team News

Aaron Cresswell is set to return but Antonio, Fabianski and Reid are still set to miss out. Yarmolenko will hope to replace Fornals in the starting XI.

Sheffield United

Chris Wilder has worked wonders with Sheffield United ever since joining the club, and that’s especially true of their return to the top flight of English football. They aren’t just picking up the results they need, though, because they’re also putting in genuinely good performances and playing some attractive football. They’ll see this season as an opportunity to prove that they have nothing to lose, and up to this point, they’ve done a solid job of doing just that.

Team News

The visitors will have a clean bill of health with all previously injured players returning, with Mousset and McGoldrick competing for a place in the starting line-up.

Factors to Consider

• West Ham have only won two of their last twelve games against Sheffield United.
• West Ham have won one, drawn two and lost three of their last six games.
• Sheffield United have won two, drawn one and lost three of their last six games.
• West Ham have scored five goals and conceded 10 in their last six games.
• Sheffield United have scored three goals and conceded three in their last six games.

Conclusion

The Hammers are in a bit of a rut and need something of a favourable game in order to get them back in a strong position, but it just doesn’t feel like taking on the Blades is going to give them the win they need. It’s going to be a tight affair and for fans of defensive football, you’ll well and truly feel like you’re in heaven. There’s a lot of bad blood still lingering between these two clubs and that’ll continue for quite some time, so expect quite a few challenges as they play out a dramatic draw.

Prediction: Draw

Best Odds: 5/2

Bookmaker: bet365