Sheffield United v Bournemouth: betting preview, odds, stats and free tip

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Sheffield United v Bournemouth in the Premier League.

Where to watch

BT Sport 1, 2pm Sunday

Best bet

Draw
1pt 13-5 bet365, Betfair

Team news

Sheffield United
David McGoldrick (foot) is back in contention and Richairo Zivkovic and Panagiotis Retsos hope to be involved for the first time.

Bournemouth
Joshua King and Jack Stacey (both hamstring) could return to the squad but Jefferson Lerma is suspended.

Match preview

Successive Premier League victories have breathed life into Bournemouth's survival hopes and the Cherries can pick up another point when taking on Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.

There are 13 games to go but there should be a sense of urgency for Bournemouth, who have already played all of their fixtures against the other bottom-six teams.

The two-point gap to the bottom three looks slender, bearing in mind they still have to play against all of the top nine, starting with the trip to Bramall Lane.

Eddie Howe's side will have to get some results against highflying teams and they might fancy their chances against the sixth-placed Blades, who are the lowest scorers among the top 11.

Chris Wilder has built a strong team in which every player knows his job and there is the tantalising prospect of pushing for Champions League qualification.

With the other top-four chasing sides on their winter break, United have an opportunity to climb to within two points of fourth-placed Chelsea.

That they have such a huge prize to play for is amazing, bearing in mind they were every bookmaker's ante-post favourites to finish bottom.

Wilder is already looking to the future after snapping up 21-year-old Norwegian midfielder Sander Berge in a £22 million January deal.

But there is no chance of him allowing players to take their foot off the pedal when there is so much to play for.

United are one of the most consistent teams in terms of performance because their levels of effort and application are almost always of a high standard.

But they do not have the quality some other teams possess and are having a tough time scoring goals.

The Blades have not scored more than once in any of their last eight league games, meaning there is a huge reliance on the defence and goalkeeper Dean Henderson to keep churning out clean sheets.

However, that may not be easy against Bournemouth, who have looked more of a threat in recent weeks.

The south-coast side have scored five goals in their last two league games and showed some defensive grit in last Saturday's 2-1 victory at home to Aston Villa, keeping the visitors at bay despite losing hot-headed midfielder Jefferson Lerma to a 51st-minute red card.

Nathan Ake's return from injury has stiffened their defensive resolve and the Dutchman will have a key role to play in nullifying the waves of Sheffield United attacks which will probably come Bournemouth's way.

Nothing comes easy for top-flight visitors at Bramall Lane but four of the last six have avoided defeat and Bournemouth are playing well enough to pick up a point.