Sheffield United v Nottingham Forest predictions: Big guns difficult to separate

Free football tips, best bets & analysis for Saturday's Championship playoff semi-final first leg between Sheffield United and Nottingham Forest.

Where to watch

Sky Sports Football & Main Event, 3pm Saturday

Best bet

Draw
1pt 11-5 bet365

Team news

Sheffield United
Billy Sharp (calf) is unlikely to feature and Rhian Brewster, David McGoldrick, Jayden Bogle and Oli McBurnie will miss the playoffs.

Nottingham Forest
Lewis Grabban and Keinan Davis remain sidelined.

Match preview

Sheffield United and Nottingham Forest have shared two 1-1 draws in the Championship this season and there may be nothing to choose between them in the first leg of their playoff semi-final at Bramall Lane.

Finishing fourth was a slight disappointment for Forest, who went into the final week of the season with a chance of automatic promotion.

Forest's hopes of climbing into the top two were dashed by a 1-0 loss at Bournemouth and a much-changed side could manage only a 1-1 draw at Hull last weekend, allowing Huddersfield to leapfrog them into third place.

Hull's late equaliser was probably not welcomed by either Forest or Sheffield United, who would have preferred to sidestep each other in the semi-finals.

The Blades have been a top-flight club for two of the last three seasons but they took a while to get going this term and needed a change of manager to kickstart their campaign.

United amassed 52 points in 27 games after Paul Heckingbottom replaced Slavisa Jokanovic but they have had a few wobbles over the last few months as they adjusted to the loss of most of their striking department.

One by one Rhian Brewster, David McGoldrick and Oli McBurnie suffered season-ending injuries and they have been joined in the treatment room by the Blades' top scorer Billy Sharp, who has made just one substitute appearance since mid-March.

Heckingbottom reacted by deploying Iliman Ndiaye and Morgan Gibbs-White further forward and the duo were on target in last Saturday's 4-0 success at home to second-tier champions Fulham.

However, neither are natural centre-forwards and they may not get much change out of a strong Nottingham Forest back three comprised of Joe Worrall, Steve Cook and Scott McKenna.

Forest have the best defensive record among the playoff contenders and look strong in attack, too, despite the absences of injured strikers Keinan Davis and Lewis Grabban.

Sam Surridge has stepped up, scoring five goals in his last six appearances, and Brennan Johnson took his league tally to 16 for the season with a penalty in last weekend's draw at Hull.

Despite taking just a point from their final two games, Forest can be delighted with how they have improved under Steve Cooper.

They were second from bottom when the former Swansea manager rocked up at the City Ground and he soon worked out how maximise a talented group's potential.

Cooper has had some tough experiences in the playoffs – falling short with Swansea in the previous two campaigns – but his Forest team look the pick of the contenders this time around.

The Tricky Trees were 1-0 winners at Fulham last month, so they know they can win at any ground in the division.

However, Forest's priority will be to ensure they are at least level going into next Tuesday's second leg at the City Ground and a slightly cautious approach from them could increase the chances of a stalemate in Yorkshire.

Key stat

Both of this season's league matches between Sheffield United and Nottingham Forest finished 1-1.

Inside info

Sheffield United

Penalty taker Oliver Norwood
Free-kick wizard Oliver Norwood
Set-piece aerial threat John Egan
Card magnet John Fleck

Nottingham Forest

Penalty taker Brennan Johnson
Free-kick wizard Philip Zinckernagel
Set-piece aerial threat Sam Surridge
Card magnet Jack Colback

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