Two sides at opposite ends of the Championship table will meet in the run-in on Saturday, as Plymouth Argyle welcome Sheffield United to Home Park.
A midweek defeat leaves the hosts five points adrift of safety with just five games remaining, while the visitors have dropped out of the top two following consecutive losses.
Match preview
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Plymouth Argyle head back to Home Park on Saturday aiming to keep their slim hopes of Championship survival alive following a midweek defeat.
Heading into the final international break of the season in late March, the Pilgrims looked all but confined to the drop back to England's third tier, as a home defeat to fellow strugglers Derby County left them rooted to the foot of the table on just 33 points from 38 outings.
Miron Muslic's side did show improvement on their return, though, restoring a faint hope of escaping the bottom three with a goalless draw away at playoff-chasers Watford and a 2-1 home victory over Norwich City last weekend thanks to Ryan Hardie's first-half brace.
A crucial trip to Swansea City then followed on Wednesday, with the chance to move within touching distance of 21st spot with a victory, but the Devon outfit failed to capitalise, leaving empty-handed as Lewis O'Brien, Harry Darling and Josh Key got on the scoresheet before the interval in a 3-0 home triumph.
Remaining at the foot of the table, and now sitting three points behind 23rd-placed Luton Town and five adrift of safety with five games remaining, having conceded a league-high tally of 81 goals in their 41 games, Plymouth Argyle will be desperate to bounce back to winning ways on Saturday and avoid being confined to the drop ahead of the final run-in.
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Their visitors, meanwhile, make the long trip to the south coast on Saturday also aiming to bounce back from a midweek defeat, having fallen out of the automatic promotion spots in the last week.
In what has been a competitive race for top-two spots at the top end of England's second tier throughout the season, Sheffield United returned from the March international break in second spot and moved to the summit with a 3-1 home triumph over Coventry City, taking an unbeaten run to five games and moving them onto 83 points, having overcome a two-point deduction in their promotion bid.
The Blades have since seen their top-two hopes take a major hit, though, having suffered back-to-back defeats for the first time since October and only their seventh and eighth league losses of the season, firstly visiting Oxford United last weekend and leaving empty-handed as Siriki Dembele netted the only goal of the game in the first half.
Millwall then travelled to Bramall Lane on Tuesday, and Chris Wilder's side again fell short by a single goal, as Josh Coburn netted the winner for their visitors in the first half, seeing the South Yorkshire outfit remain third as a result.
Now trailing league leaders Leeds United and second-placed Burnley by two points with the weakest goal difference in the top three and just five games remaining, including an away trip to the latter, Sheffield United will look to rebound at Home Park and stake a claim to return to the top two in the run-in.
Team News
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Plymouth Argyle will remain without defenders Maksym Talovierov and Brendan Galloway on Saturday due to ongoing injury issues.
Miron Muslic may opt to make several changes to his Plymouth Argyle starting XI after Wednesday's 3-0 loss, with Nathaniel Ogbeta, Jordan Houghton, Tymoteusz Puchacz and Callum Wright among those competing to come in from the outset.
Mustapha Bundu and Michael Obafemi will hope to keep their places in the attack alongside Ryan Hardie, who leads the squad with 10 goals this season, while Houghton could join either Darko Gyabi or Adam Randell in the middle of their 3-4-3 shape.
Chris Wilder should also make changes to his Sheffield United starting XI after back-to-back defeats, with defenders Harry Clarke and Rhys Norrington-Davies and midfielders Tom Davies and Oliver Arblaster remaining confined to the treatment room.
Vinicius Souza will hope to start in the midfield, having made consecutive substitute appearances after an injury layoff, meaning Hamza Choudhury could drop into the right-hand side of a back four, with Rob Holding also competing for a starting spot at the back.
Kieffer Moore and Tom Cannon will both compete to displace top scorer Tyrese Campbell, who has netted 10 league goals so far this season, and lead the line, while Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, Callum O'Hare and Andre Brooks will battle for spots in support with Ben Brereton Diaz, Rhian Brewster and Gustavo Hamer having all kept their places for Tuesday's defeat to Millwall.
Plymouth Argyle possible starting lineup:
Hazard; Puchacz, Katic, Pleguezuelo; Sorinola, Gyabi, Houghton, Mumba; Hardie, Obafemi, Bundu
Sheffield United possible starting lineup:
Cooper; Choudhury, Ahmedhodzic, Robinson, McCallum; Peck, Souza; Rak-Sakyi, O'Hare, Hamer; Cannon
We say: Plymouth Argyle 0-1 Sheffield United
While Plymouth Argyle are slightly better at Home Park than their standing at the foot of the league table suggests, we still back Sheffield United to show their quality on Saturday and make a crucial return to winning ways against the struggling hosts.
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Sam Varley
