Championship news: Sheffield Utd vs Leeds Utd – Five key battles and score prediction

Monday night sees a mouth-watering top-of-the-table clash in the Championship as Leeds United visit Bramall Lane to take on Sheffield United.

Leeds won the reverse fixture 2-0 at Elland Road and enter this fixture off the back of a dramatic last-minute win over Sunderland. 

The Blades, on the other hand, were unconvincing but clinical as they beat rock-bottom Luton Town 1-0 away from home. 

Sports News Blitz writer Samuel Leasley considers five key battles in the titanic tussle and offers a score prediction. 

Chris Wilder vs Daniel Farke

Whilst his Sheffield United side have looked unconvincing in recent weeks, Wilder’s side have won four games on the bounce and will be looking to maintain the gap between themselves and Burnley. 

Against Luton, Wilder’s side were under the cosh for extended periods but weathered the storm and took all three points via Anel Ahmedhodzic’s goal. 

The Blades boss has been complimentary of Leeds in recent weeks, praising their “demolition” of sides such as Watford and Cardiff. 

Wilder has only seen Sheffield United lose two home games this season and will look to maintain their automatic promotion push in this Yorkshire derby against Leeds. 

In contrast, Daniel Farke will not be in the dugout for this fixture due to his controversial yellow card for celebrating at Elland Road last week, but his side will no doubt understand exactly what is expected from him. 

Astute substitutions brought great reward for Farke and Leeds against Sunderland as Joe Rothwell and Pascal Struijk combined twice to snatch a dramatic victory for the Whites. 

Leeds are now unbeaten since the end of November and go into this fixture full of confidence and in impressive goal-scoring form. 

Indeed, the Whites have scored 17 goals more than any other Championship side and will be looking to add to that tally when they visit Bramall Lane. 

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Ben Brereton Diaz vs Jayden Bogle

Brereton Diaz rejoined the Blades on loan for a second spell with the club in the January transfer window to add some much-needed firepower to their frontline. 

In four starts for the club, the Chilean international has netted twice and provided one assist. 

Brereton Diaz has also been incredibly clinical in front of goal, with his two goals coming from only three shots on target. 

Drifting in from the left flank, he will look to exploit Leeds on the counter-attack should the Whites chuck heavy numbers forward. 

A man who is certainly familiar to the Sheffield United faithful is Jayden Bogle, who joined Leeds in the summer from the Blades for a fee of £5 million. 

Bogle has become essential to the Leeds attacking unit, providing four goals plus two assists so far this season and providing a constant overlap to the ever-impressive Dan James. 

He has also been strong defensively, accumulating 53 successful tackles – the most in the squad – alongside 20 interceptions. 

Referees also seem to be ever-present around Bogle’s actions, with the Englishman committing 44 fouls and winning 42 himself. 

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Vinicius Souza vs Brenden Aaronson 

The tough-tackling Brazilian midfielder has been one of the standout performers in a Sheffield United side that continues to grind out results. 

Souza has been the difference in tight games that the Blades have prevailed in and will look to stamp his authority by preventing the creativity of the Leeds front quartet. 

The defensive midfielder has won 52 tackles so far this season alongside providing 26 interceptions. 

The only area that lets Souza down is his discipline as he has received eight bookings this season whilst committing 48 fouls, second to only Gus Hamer in the squad. 

Up against Souza is the American Aaronson, who was ineffective in the home fixture against Sunderland due to a deep-lying midfield of Chris Rigg, Jobe Bellingham, and Dan Neil. 

Although he has a tendency to fall behind the Leeds wide men in terms of consistency, Aaronson has provided a considerable goal output for the Whites.

The American is the third-highest scorer for Leeds with eight goals and has developed a reputation for being in the right place at the right time in order to finish Leeds counter-attacks. 

Aaronson may also prove a frustrating opponent for the foul-hungry Souza as he has won 49 fouls in the Championship so far this season. 

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Jesurun Rak-Sakyi vs Junior Firpo

Rak-Sakyi has proven a considerable influence in recent weeks, netting in two of his last three appearances. 

The Crystal Palace loanee has found a regular starting spot difficult to establish, but his pace on the counter may prove crucial against a forward-pushing Leeds side. 

Rak-Sakyi scored in wins over Portsmouth and Middlesbrough to take his tally to six for the season, sitting behind only Hamer and Tom Cannon in the Blades’ scoring charts. 

The Englishman also has a respectable 16 tackles won in 18 starts, proving he can track back to help Harry Clarke in defence. 

A man currently sitting joint-top of the Leeds assist charts is Firpo, who has flourished following his return to the squad from injury. 

Firpo has provided seven assists this season, joint with Manor Solomon, and has provided Leeds with an attacking outlet on the left wing when breaking down defences camped in their final third. 

Firpo is also strong defensively as he has chipped in with 20 successful tackles and 22 interceptions in only 20 appearances. 

Similarly to full-back partner Bogle, Firpo is in regular conversation with the officials, winning 31 fouls and committing 32 himself. 

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Harrison Burrows vs Dan James

Burrows has been a standout performer this season for the Blades and has netted crucial goals at crucial times for the promotion chasers. 

The left-back has provided five goals alongside two assists, with four of those contributions coming in his last seven appearances. 

Burrows trails only Souza in tackles won for the club, having won 43 alongside making 22 interceptions. 

He is also a regular target for opposition full-backs as he has won 41 fouls in his forward-thinking role within Wilder’s system. 

Up against Burrows is a man in incredible recent form and one who needed two Sunderland players marking him on Monday. 

James has scored 10 goals for the Whites this season whilst providing six assists, trailing only Joel Piroe in contributions. 

James also tops the charts for the Whites in terms of attempted shots and shots on target, with the Welsh international attempting 49 shots with 30 of those on target. 

The winger has eight goal contributions in his last eight games and will be looking to cause trouble for Sheffield United alongside Bogle on the Whites’ right-hand side. 

Summary

The Blades enter this fixture in a good run of form but appear to lack the firepower that is present in the Leeds team. 

Should they choose to stay compact and go man-to-man with Leeds, they may well be in with a shout at dealing a blow to the Whites’ title aspirations.

However, I believe that the form and resilience shown by Leeds in recent weeks will prove crucial in edging this tight clash. 

Score prediction: Sheffield United 0-1 Leeds United

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