Sheffield United vs Chelsea preview, team news, tickets, and prediction

Sheffield United and Chelsea will meet in this crucial match for the former as they continue to hope to stay up in the Premier League. The Blades’ season has not gone out of plan as many expected them to go right down and it is looking increasingly likely that it will happen. As for the Blues, it has been difficult to lay claim to a run of consistent results and that has really affected them generally. However, they will be looking to finish high and a result here could be of help.

Sheffield made a return to the top flight last summer but things have been quite difficult for them. Well, it was not expected to be rosy at all, as the level in the Premier League looked beyond them at the time. With months into the season, that notion has not been proved wrong at all.

Despite the change in the dugout that saw the return of Chris Wilder, the Blades have still not been able to break free from the relegation zone - where they have spent their entire campaign. Sheffield have won three games all season and have only won two Premier League games in their past 14 matches as of the time of writing. To a large extent, there is no way back from this for them and they are condemned to go down.

Meanwhile, Chelsea, after an underwhelming campaign last season, made substantial investments during the offseason, committing over £300 million to transfers. Among the notable arrivals were the £100 million acquisition Moisés Caicedo, who chose Chelsea over Liverpool, Robert Sánchez from Brighton, Axel Disasi and Lesley Ugochukwu from the French Ligue 1, Cole Palmer from rivals Manchester City, Nicolas Jackson from Laliga side Villarreal, Romeo Lavia from relegated Southampton, and Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig this summer.

Exits include the likes of Kai Havertz, Mason Mount, Mateo Kovacic, Kalidou Koulibaly, Christian Pulisic, Edouard Mendy, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Ethan Ampadu, Romelu Lukaku Callum Hudson-Odoi, César Azpilicueta, N'Golo Kanté, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Hakim Ziyech, Tiemoué Bakayoko, and a host of other young players. And of course, Mauricio Pochettino took over as coach in the summer. Unfortunately for Chelsea, Nkunku and Lavia were injured for a while but have finally made some appearances in the Premier League with the former scoring in the defeat at Wolves.

Chelsea have had a topsy-turvy campaign, picking 35 points from 25 games. They lost 2-1 to Manchester United at Old Trafford before another 2-0 defeat to Everton at Goodison Park. Red Devils. They have also suffered losses to Newcastle United, Brentford, Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest, and West Ham this season. But aside from Manchester United, the Blues have not lost to any other member of the top six. Under Pochettino, the Blues have played well, but the results have just not panned out in their favor. They also went to the Etihad and got a draw which goes to show they can be good on their day.

However, a run of three Premier League wins out of their final four games of the season has helped their situation a bit. As of the time of writing, they sit 14 points behind the top four and they will be hoping for a decent result here to finish the season on a high.

Sheffield are already down and out, so Chelsea should not have a problem here in terms of picking up another routine win against one of the promoted sides.

Match tickets

The epic match at Bramall Lane in Sheffield kicks off on Saturday 6th April 2024, at 3 PM UK time.

The magnificent 32.050-capacity stadium is the place to be for this clash between a side heading for the championship and another underwhelming side.

Getting tickets for the Sheffield United v Chelsea tickets could take a lot of work given the standard of this game. Hence, you are advised to search ticket reselling sites should they be expectedly sold out on each club’s channels.

Team news

Line-ups

Sheffield United’s problem has been quality not the unavailability of players. They have only managed to get players of championship quality and hope to stay up with just that. Archer, who was supposed to be the shining light after a big move from Villa, has not done much for them in attack. Goalkeeper Foderingham has given his best in goal but he’s been let down a few times. Chris Wilder will probably approach this match with the same regulars he has featured in games throughout his second stint.

Sheffield United XI: Foderingham; Bogle, Holgate, Ahmedhodzic, Robinson, Norrington-Davies; McAtee, Sousa, Hamer, Osborn; Archer.

In terms of players out due to injuries, Chelsea ranked highest on the injury table in the Premier League. Captain Reece James, Marc Cucurella, Lesley Ugochukwu, and the likes of Trevor Chalobah, Ben Chilwell, Christopher Nkunku, and Robert Sanchez have been in and out of the Physio’s room this season. However, a large number of them should be fit for this trip. Meanwhile, defender Wesley Fofana is still recovering from an ACL injury.

Chelsea XI: Robert Sanchez; Levi Colwill, Chilwell, Reece James; Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo; Cole Palmer, Raheem Sterling, Nkunku.

Prediction

The season is probably over for Sheffield United unless they stand the chance of survival by the time this particular fixture goes ahead. It will take a miracle to beat the drop. Chelsea on the other hand, are condemned to start getting wins if they want to keep moving up the log. So, they need a strong performance on the ground where several teams have taken all three points this season.

Meanwhile, if Chelsea are in their element, the Blades would be lucky to walk away with a point.

Sheffield United 1-4 Chelsea