Sheffield United v Newcastle United: Premier League preview, free tip & TV

Football tips, best bets and predictions for Sheffield United v Newcastle United in the Premier League.

Where to watch

Amazon Prime, 7.30pm Thursday

Best bet

Newcastle or draw double chance
2pts 20-21 BoyleSports

Team news

Sheffield Utd
Chris Wilder has a fully-fit squad to select from.

Newcastle
Allan Saint-Maximin should recover from a minor problem and Andy Carroll is back in training. DeAndre Yedlin is also near to returning.

Match preview

Newcastle have done better than their fans might have anticipated in the post-Rafa Benitez era and they can pick up at least one more Premier League point against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.

It is fair to say that Benitez's replacement, Steve Bruce, was not a popular choice, despite his Geordie roots.

But Bruce possesses vast experience and a thick skin (having formerly managed Birmingham and Aston Villa) and has put together a competitive team.

The pressure was on after early-season losses at home to Arsenal and away to Norwich, but Bruce turned things around and the Magpies' points total of 16 is four more than they had at the same time in 2018-19.

Progress has been made despite the lack of a prolific goalscorer.

Centre-forward Joelinton has scored one goal in 14 appearances and winger Allan Saint-Maximim is yet to find the net despite putting in several crowd-pleasing performances.

Both are likely to do better in the second half of the season, although patience is likely to be wearing thin with Paraguayan attacker Miguel Almiron, who has made little impact since arriving in January.

Newcastle have done well despite their attacking limitations because they have a sound defensive structure and a balanced midfield.

The attack-minded Jonjo Shelvey took the plaudits for his superb equaliser against Manchester City on Saturday but a lot of the unseen work was done by Isaac Hayden, who excels at screening the defence.

Newcastle's three-man defence suits them and allows exciting left wing-back Jetro Willems to showcase his attacking talents.

Their favoured set-up gives them a good chance of nullifying Sheffield United, who are one of the division's best exponents of 3-5-2.

Chris Wilder's formation gets the best out of his players, who seem to play every match as if their lives depend on it.

The Blades' intensity has been key to them being so hard to beat and, despite them playing at such speed, injuries have been a rarity.

Wilder's starting side and bench has featured the same 18 players in five of the last six matches and six of his team have featured in all 14 games.

Continuity has been a key factor in Sheffield United's success, although it may be more difficult to achieve before and after the festive period with games coming thick and fast.

Even in recent games there have been a few signs of fatigue creeping in.

They conceded three goals in the final quarter of the home match against Manchester United and were on the back foot in the closing stages of Sunday's 1-1 draw at Wolves.

Newcastle at home is their first midweek Premier League fixture of the season and, if they are not quite at full throttle, there is a good chance of them dropping points.