Sheffield United will look to build on their opening Championship victory when they return to action on Tuesday, welcoming Preston North End to Bramall Lane.
After a slow start to the new season, the Blades thrashed Peterborough United 6-2 at home on Saturday, while the visitors arrive on the back of a goalless draw away at Bristol City.
Match preview
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Sheffield United had a difficult start to the campaign following their relegation from the Premier League, as they headed into a new era under the management of Slavisa Jokanovic.
They began with a home clash against Birmingham City, and were handed a 1-0 defeat, before they came out of a trip to Swansea with a point following a goalless draw.
The Blades then fell to a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of West Bromwich Albion, and a late Levi Colwill goal saw them lose 2-1 at home to Huddersfield Town before they drew 0-0 with Luton in the final game prior to the recent international break.
In need of a reaction upon their return to Championship football, having recorded just two points and one goal from five outings, Jokanovic's men produced on Saturday, as they picked up a dominant 6-2 home victory over Peterborough.
Exciting prospect Iliman Ndiaye opened the scoring, and a Jack Marriott equaliser saw them head into half time level, but the Blades came out firing with John Fleck and Ben Osborn establishing a two-goal lead before Morgan Gibbs-White added a fourth and Osborn and Ndiaye each hit their second goals.
The South Yorkshire outfit will now be desperate to build on that with what would be another crucial victory on Tuesday, as they look to build consistency and climb the Chamionship table.
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They take on a Preston North End side who had a similarly difficult start to the Championship season, having lost their opening three games.
The visitors bounced back from that start with a 1-0 home win over Peterborough United, as defender Patrick Bauer netted the only goal of the game, before they made it back-to-back victories by defeating Swansea City 3-1 on home turf, with Sepp van den Berg, Emil Riis Jakobsen and Ben Whiteman getting on the scoresheet after Joel Piroe had put the visitors ahead.
Frankie McAvoy's side made the trip to take on Bristol City on Saturday, with the hopes of recording a third straight league win, but neither side were able to break the deadlock as the game finished goalless.
Having quickly climbed from the foot of the table to 13th spot, the Deepdale will look to continue their upturn in form with what would be an impressive result on Tuesday, when they make the trip to Yorkshire.
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Team News
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Sheffield United remain without a long list of players, with goalkeeper Robin Olsen expected to continue quarantining after featuring for Sweden during the international break, while the likes of centre-back Ben Davies, midfielder Sander Berge and attackers David McGoldrick and Lys Mousset are all out of action.
After Saturday's strong showing, Jokanovic could deploy an unchanged starting XI, with Iliman Ndiaye set to make his second start for the club after his brace, despite coming off with cramp.
Wolverhampton Wanderers loanee Morgan Gibbs-White impressed on his debut, and he should again line up in the midfield with John Fleck and Oliver Norwood, forcing Conor Hourihane to wait for his first start after arriving on loan from Aston Villa.
Experienced centre-back Chris Basham will be hoping to break back into the side, and he may be brought into the back four after Jack Robinson made a costly error for Peterborough's equaliser on Saturday.
Preston took an unchanged side into Saturday's clash with Bristol City, and McEvoy could again deploy the same starting XI, with Ben Whiteman and Ryan Ledson pairing up in the engine room.
After a clean sheet last time out, Jordan Story, Patrick Bauer and Andrew Hughes should again form a back three in front of goalkeeper Daniel Iversen, who rejoined for his second loan spell from Leicester City.
Emil Riis Jakobsen will continue to lead the line, having hit his second league goal of the season in their victory over Swansea City.
Sheffield United possible starting lineup:
Foderingham; Baldock, Basham, Egan, Norrington-Davies; Fleck, Norwood; Osborn, Gibbs-White, Ndiaye; Sharp
Preston North End possible starting lineup:
Iversen; Storey, Bauer, Hughes; Van Den Berg, Ledson, Whiteman, Earl; Johnson; Jakobsen, Maguire
We say: Sheffield United 2-1 Preston North End
While Preston also find themselves recovering from a difficult start, we see the hosts having the quality to make it two straight Championship victories on Tuesday.
The injection of Gibbs-Wite and Ndiaye breathed new life into the Blades on Saturday, and Jokanovic will hope to see a similarly impressive performance from his side when they welcome the Lancashire outfit.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Sheffield United win with a probability of 48.16%. A draw had a probability of 27% and a win for Preston North End had a probability of 24.82%.
The most likely scoreline for a Sheffield United win was 1-0 with a probability of 13.54%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (9.57%) and 2-1 (8.92%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.62%), while for a Preston North End win it was 0-1 (8.93%). The actual scoreline of 2-2 was predicted with a 4.2% likelihood.
