Championship playoff hopefuls Sheffield United host a Bournemouth side who are still in the hotseat for automatic promotion despite suffering defeat in midweek.

The Blades are currently sixth in the table and two points ahead of seventh-placed Middlesbrough, while the Cherries are second and six points clear of third-placed Huddersfield Town.

Match preview

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Oliver Norwood scored the only goal of the game as Sheffield United earned a vital 1-0 victory over playoff rivals Queens Park Rangers on Tuesday night.

It was only a second win in five games for the Blades, who are now aiming to achieve back-to-back victories for the first time since February.

Since Paul Heckingbottom was appointed manager on November 25, no team in the Championship has picked up more points than Sheffield United (41).

The 44-year-old is also yet to lose a home game in charge, winning eight and drawing two of his 10 matches at Bramall Lane. The Blades have kept a clean sheet in eight of those.

After this fixture, the Yorkshire outfit have three consecutive matches against teams in the bottom eight so will be hoping to cement their playoff place.

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Bournemouth conceded twice in the opening 12 minutes to lose 2-0 against West Bromwich Albion on Wednesday, their first defeat in six matches.

The Cherries still have a healthy six-point gap to Huddersfield in third and have two games in hand over the Terriers. Catching leaders Fulham, who they trail by 11 points and have a game in hand over, seems unlikely though.

Scott Parker says that he is "really surprised" that this game will be played at 12:30pm on Saturday, less than 72 hours after another long away trip in midweek.

His team have the best defensive record away from home in the Championship, conceding just 15 goals in 18 matches on the road.

Bournemouth scored twice in three second-half minutes as they came from behind to win 2-1 against Sheffield United at the Vitality Stadium earlier in the season.

Before that game, the Blades were unbeaten in the last 10 meetings, winning nine of them. The Cherries have only won once in their previous nine visits to Bramall Lane and that solitary triumph came in August 1987.

Team News

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Billy Sharp has missed the last two games due to a hamstring injury and although there is a chance that he could appear on Saturday, Paul Heckingbottom has said that the veteran striker will not be rushed back.

Filip Uremovic made his Sheffield United debut against QPR in midweek and was taken off with cramp in the second half, but should be in contention to feature again.

Heckingbottom revealed that Oli McBurnie had been throwing up all day before the game against the Hoops but the striker still managed 73 minutes. Daniel Jebbison could replace him if necessary.

Dominic Solanke was seen limping during the closing stages of Bournemouth's defeat to West Brom on Wednesday, but Scott Parker said after the game that he was not sure how serious the issue was.

The 24-goal striker has started every league game for the Cherries this season so it would be a huge blow if he was absent; Jamal Lowe or Siriki Dembele would likely take his place upfront in that situation.

A quick turnaround in games could lead Parker to rotate, with Todd Cantwell and Jack Stacey among the names pushing for a start.

Sheffield United possible starting lineup:
Foderingham; Davies, Egan, Robinson; Baldock, Fleck, Norwood, Berge, Stevens; Gibbs-White, Jebbison

Bournemouth possible starting lineup:
Travers; Smith, Phillips, Kelly, Zemura; Billing, Lerma, Cantwell; Dembele, Solanke, Lowe

We say: Sheffield United 1-1 Bournemouth

Bournemouth will not want to get into a rut and start looking nervously over their shoulder, so we expect a response from Parker's side here. But Sheffield United have been invincible at home under Heckingbottom and have plenty to play for themselves, so we think that this game will end level.

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