After a month-long break from competitive action during the World Cup, Sheffield United and Huddersfield Town will return on Saturday and do battle at Bramall Lane in a Championship contest.
The hosts find them second in the league table, three points off the summit, while their visitors are fighting at the other end, currently occupying the foot of the division.
Match preview
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Sheffield United headed into the mid-season break in a strong position, having started their promotion push in fine form to sit second in the Championship with 38 points from their opening 21 outings.
That has largely been down to their formidable defensive form, with no other side conceding as few as the 19 goals the Blades have shipped in England's second tier so far, while they also showed their attacking prowess at home to league leaders Burnley soon before the break.
Paul Heckingbottom's side reduced the gap to top spot by dishing out a 5-2 thrashing, as Oli McBurnie netted a brace alongside goals from Iliman Ndiaye, Jack Robinson and Anel Ahmedhodzic, but they would go on to suffer a disappointing defeat in the following encounter, losing 1-0 at home to Rotherham United.
In their final game before the beginning of the World Cup, the Blades travelled to take on Cardiff City, and they successfully returned to winning ways and jumped back into the automatic promotion spots with an 11th three-point haul of the campaign, triumphing 1-0 thanks to George Baldock's finish soon after the hour mark.
Now trailing Burnley by three points and sitting two points ahead of third-placed Blackburn Rovers, Sheffield United will aim to pick up where they left off and put another victory on the board on home turf on Saturday to further strengthen their position in the race for promotion.
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They take on a Huddersfield Town side who are desperate for points in a different fight, as the fellow Yorkshire outfit look to climb off the foot of the table.
After only collecting 12 points from their opening 15 Championship matches, Mark Fotheringham's side did manage to pick up an important 1-0 win at home to Millwall at the end of October, but they would then suffer consecutive defeats at the hands of Sunderland and Blackburn Rovers and be cut further adrift as a result.
The Terriers did, at least, head into the break two matches unbeaten in England's second tier though, firstly bouncing back from those defeats with an impressive 2-1 victory away at Queens Park Rangers, thanks to Josh Ruffels's early brace, after Lyndon Dykes had put their opponents ahead inside two minutes.
Now after a goalless draw at home to Swansea City in mid-November, prior to the commencement of the World Cup, Fotheringham's side have cut the gap to 23rd-placed Blackpool to three points and sit four points adrift of safety, and they will aim to improve their position in the fight for survival with another impressive result at the weekend.
Team News
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Although the World Cup break has provided some much-needed recovery time for Sheffield United's injury-hit squad, it is unlikely that the likes of Oli McBurnie, Jack Robinson, John Fleck and Sander Berge will be fit to return from the outset, while Rhys Norrington-Davies and Rhian Brewster will certainly remain out of action.
In the expected absence of McBurnie, who boasts eight league goals so far this season, Iliman Ndiaye should be relied on to lead the line, with the Senegal international, who started in their World Cup round-of-16 defeat to England, also level at the top of the Championship scoring charts with eight goals.
He could join Billy Sharp up front, with Tommy Doyle set to play an important role alongside Oliver Norwood in the engine room, while Anel Ahmedhodzic should be fit to return to the back three, likely alongside John Egan and Chris Basham with Robinson sidelined.
Huddersfield Town will likely remain without key midfielder Jonathan Hogg, who is nearing a return from injury but not expected to make the starting XI on Saturday, while defender Yuta Nakayama is also set to stay on the sidelines, although Tino Anjorin is in contention after his layoff.
Sorba Thomas will also be available for selection on the wing, after returning from the World Cup with Wales, while Jordan Rhodes was preferred over Danny Ward at the top end of the pitch in their most recent league outing.
Midfielder Jack Rudoni has been a key man for the Terriers since his arrival in the summer, and he should again feature alongside David Kasumu in the middle of a 3-4-3 setup.
Sheffield United possible starting lineup:
Foderingham; Ahmedhodzic, Egan, Basham; Baldock, Norwood, Doyle, Stevens; McAtee; Ndiaye, Sharp
Huddersfield Town possible starting lineup:
Nicholls; Lees, Helik, Mbete; Kessler Hayden, Kasumu, Rudoni, Ruffels; Thomas, Rhodes, Mahoney
We say: Sheffield United 2-0 Huddersfield Town
Sheffield United have been formidable at home throughout the season so far, and even without a long list of first-team regulars, they should still have more than enough to see off the league's basement side and collect all three points.
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Top tip
Sam Varley
