Wolves v Sheffield United predictions: Hosts can edge a close contest

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

Where to watch

Sky Sports Premier League, 8.15pm Saturday

Best bet

Wolves to win & under 3.5 goals
1pt 23-20 BoyleSports

Team news

Wolves
Pedro Neto has joined Raul Jimenez, Jonny Otto and Fernando Marcal on the sidelines.

Sheffield United
Billy Sharp and Oli McBurnie are out for the season. Jack O'Connell, Jack Robinson, Jack Rodwell and Chris Basham are still sidelined, while John Fleck is a doubt.

Match preview

Sheffield United's season of misery began with a home defeat by Wolves and their fate could be sealed in Saturday's return fixture at Molineux.

Goals from Raul Jimenez and Romain Saiss condemned the Blades to a 2-0 loss at Bramall Lane seven months ago, although few foresaw what was going to unfold over the ensuing weeks.

The Blades, who lit up the Premier League under Chris Wilder on their return to the top flight in 2019-20, were about to sink without trace and their two-year Premier League stay could officially be terminated this weekend.

All hope went long ago, Wilder went too, and now United seem to be almost going through the motions under Paul Heckingbottom as they await confirmation of their relegation, and Wolves get the nod here.

They're around the 4-6 mark which is fair enough given quite how poor United have been this season, but a riskier proposition is to back the hosts to win in a game containing under 3.5 goals.

Twenty-four of Wolves' 31 matches and 27 of United's have yielded three goals or fewer and the three Premier League clashes between them in the past two campaigns have produced scorelines of 1-1, 1-0 and 0-2.

United tend to lose games but usually only narrowly and Wolves are hardly a goalscoring machine themselves. They have scored 31 goals in as many league matches and their two liveliest frontmen, Raul Jimenez and Pedro Neto, are sidelined.

It says much about expectations that many at Molineux continue to bemoan what they regard as a poor season. Yet for all the problems – some of it injury-related though questionable transfer activity has to be considered – they have still racked up 38 points - 24 more than the Blades - which will be more than enough to keep them in the top division.

Winners 1-0 at Fulham last time out, Wolves weren't at their best and haven't been for a while. But they boast the match-winners – it was Adama Traore at the Cottage – who United do not and Nuno Espirito Santo's side have looked far better when reverting to a 3-4-3 set-up with Leander Dendoncker dropping into defence.

Incredibly, Traore's goal was his first in the league since December 2019 before you get seduced by first-scorer odds of 8-1 the Spaniard.

That has been Wolves' trouble this season, finding someone to replace the goalscoring output of long-term absentee Jimenez. Neither Fabio Silva nor Willian Jose look like cutting it, although Nuno's issues in that department pale in comparison to those that Heckingbottom is having to contend with.

He's not short of strikers – albeit Billy Sharp and Oli McBurnie have been ruled out for the season – but the Blades have bagged only 17 goals this term.

They are on a run of four straight losses, eight defeats in the last nine, have scored only two goals in their last eight so it is little wonder Heckingbottom is mulling over axing the 3-5-2 set-up which served the club so well last term.

Key stat

Sheffield United have suffered a Premier League-high nine 1-0 defeats this season.

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