Today, we will see two top 6 teams play against each other at Bramall Lane in Sheffield, where Sheffield Utd will host Derby in their 2nd H2H match this season.
Sheffield Utd are currently 6th in the league with an overall record of 11-5-7 and 2-1-2 in their last 5 games. In the span of the last 5 games, Sheffield defeated Brentford (2:3) and Reading (0:2), lost to Leeds (0:1) and West Brom (1:2), and drew against Ipswich (1:1) in their recent match. In their match against Ipswitch, Sheffield Utd was the dominant team, with 62% ball possession 16 goal attempts and 3 shots on goal. Ipswitch on the other side had only 38% ball possession, 7 goal attempts and 3 shots on goal. Both of the teams managed to convert 1 of their shot on goal into a goal. The opener was scored in the 38th minute by Harrison, however, Sheffield Utd answered with a goal of their own only 2 minutes into the 2nd half (47′). Those were the only 2 goals of the match. Final score: 1:1.
Derby are currently 5th in the league, only a point above Sheffield Utd. Their current record stands at 11-6-6 and a 2-2-1 in their last 5 games. In the span of those 5 games, Derby lost against Stoke (2:1), won against Swansea (2:1) and Wigan (0:1), and drew against Nottingham (0:0) and Bristol City (1:1). The match against Bristol was also their most recent match, which was dominated by Derby. The opening goal was scored by Bristol in the 24th minute. Derby scored an equalizer 13 minutes later, however they failed to score another goal despite 11 goal attempts and 4 shots on goal in the 2nd half. Derby had a 66% ball possession, 21 goal attempts and 7 shots on goal in the match, while Bristol had only 34% ball possession, 15 goal attempts and 3 shots on goal. Final score: 1:1.
The last time these two teams met was on 20th of October when Derby won 2:1. Sheffield is currently 1-2-2 in the last 5 home games and have not won a match in the last 3 home fixtures. In the span of the 5 games, they have scored 6 and conceded 6 goals. On the other side, Derby is 3-1-1 at away matches with 9 scored and 5 conceded goals. As for our prediction, we will settle for an Over/under bet for this one instead of backing Sheffield who is a favourite. The reason being is that Sheffield Utd players seem fatigued looking at their last 2 games played. They can create scoring opportunities but not many go towards the goal and even less are scored. Today they will go against a team that has only seen 12 goals being scored against them in 11 away games, which is the 3rd best record in the league. In addition, Derby has only seen 5 goals in the 5 away games. Despite their good defence, Derby has not been impressed with their offence, Much like Sheffield they can create scoring opportunities, but the problem is they convert a small % of them into a goal. Keep in mind, that 4 of their 9 away goals in the past 5 games came from a 1:4 win against West Brom. This will be a close match with Sheffield enjoying home advantage, however, I can’t see the match going over 2.5 goals.
Prediction: Under 2.50 goals
