Sheffield United and Fulham square off in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon still looking for their first point of the campaign.
The Blades and Cottagers occupy the bottom two places in the standings having scored just four goals between them in eight matches.
Match preview
© Reuters
Despite the highs during their first season back in the Premier League, Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder would have always expected the second campaign to prove significantly tougher.
However, Wilder would not have envisaged his side scoring just one goal during four successive defeats, a sequence which has left the club as one of three clubs without a point to their name.
Although the setbacks have come against teams who have made significant moves in the transfer market, Wilder will be bitterly disappointed having been left with the prospect of a relegation battle so soon after almost qualifying for Europe.
The Yorkshire outfit managed to run Arsenal close in their most recent outing, but the level of the performance was still considerably below what Wilder expects from his players.
With a trip to Liverpool to follow next weekend, Wilder will be the first to acknowledge that there is added pressure to get a positive result on the board against Fulham.
Scott Parker would have felt that the international break had come at the wrong time for his side, who put in a much-improved display in the 1-0 reverse at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Nevertheless, the afternoon ended in another setback, and Parker is aware that the stakes are growing higher as he bids to remain at Craven Cottage in the long term.
Parker realistically needs to keep Aleksandar Mitrovic available for selection if the West Londoners are to get themselves out of the relegation zone, but he also requires more consistency from his backline.
The arrival of Joachim Andersen should improve Fulham's fortunes in the middle of the defence once he is fit, but the Denmark international will require help from his teammates if the club are to make quick headway up the table.
Sheffield United Premier League form: LLLL
Sheffield United form (all competitions): LDLLL
Fulham Premier League form: LLLL
Fulham form (all competitions): WLWLLL
Team News
© Reuters
After his big-money transfer from Liverpool, Rhian Brewster will almost certainly be provided with a debut in the Sheffield United attack.
However, John Egan is likely to miss out after his spell in isolation while on international duty with Republic of Ireland, while John Fleck picked up an injury during his time with Scotland.
As for Fulham, Ruben Loftus-Cheek is in line for an immediate debut after his loan switch from Chelsea.
Ademola Lookman is also pushing to feature from the opening whistle after his lively display as a substitute at Molineux.
However, Andersen has sustained an ankle injury, with Parker revealing that the new arrival is expected to spend several weeks on the sidelines.
Sheffield United possible starting lineup:
Ramsdale; Basham, Ampadu, Robinson; Baldock, Lundstram, Berge, Osborn, Stevens; McBurnie, Brewster
Fulham possible starting lineup:
Areola; Aina, Ream, Le Marchand, Robinson; Cairney, Zambo Anguissa; Lookman, Loftus-Cheek, Bryan; Mitrovic
We say: Sheffield United 2-1 Fulham
Something has got to give this weekend, and we think that both sides will look to go on the offensive in search of a much-needed win. However, despite the lack of crowd, the Blades get the nod from us, potentially by the odd goal in three after a nervy second half.
Top betting tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a double chance bet on a home win or draw in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Home/Draw:dataVideo prediction
Watch the Sports Mole Football Shorts prediction for this game below:
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 38.05%. A win for Fulham had a probability of 34.78% and a draw had a probability of 27.2%.
The most likely scoreline for a Sheffield United win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.71%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.19%) and 2-0 (6.81%). The likeliest Fulham win was 0-1 (10.14%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.88%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 12.9% likelihood.
Germany
Switzerland
Hungary
Scotland
Spain
Italy
Croatia
Albania
England
Denmark
Slovenia
Serbia
Austria
France
Netherlands
Poland
Romania
Belgium
Slovakia
Ukraine
Portugal
Turkey
Georgia
Czech Republic
