“As everyone will note, this match has the potential to be difficult. Back in March, I looked at this one as a real tough place to get three points. The lack of home fans in attendance is a help.”

“Sheffield United suddenly becomes a much harder game after they’ve turned over Spurs and Wolves in consecutive games. They have a real good chance of European football next season.”

“They are still fighting for Europe so definitely will be up for it.”

“The blades will know they have to beat us to maintain the hope they have for the CL spots. They have the foxes after us too. So know back to back wins could seem them cut the gap significantly.
Really dangerous game this. If we are not bang at it we will be punished.”

“This is a very tough game. Sheff Utd are ahead of Arsenal and Spurs so we need to treat this like we’re playing one of the best teams. I’m seeing odds floating about at 6/1 for a Sheff Utd win, which I think is pretty crazy given their form and our shaky defence.”

“Perhaps we should treat them like City and press not so far up the pitch so they need to come out a bit and then try and hit them on the break.”

“If there was ever a potential banana skin, this game is it.”

“I forgot Sheffield United were in the PL. They’re even above Arsenal and Tottenham, which is great but shows we shouldn’t take them lightly.”

“I really, really hope Kova can get fit for this. It’s going to be another battling opponent.”

“This game is going to be very tough. They have one of the best defense records in the league currently. And have have done well at home against bigger sides (beat spurs 3-1 drew to United 3-3, beat arsenal 1-0) so I’m pretty worried about this one. They are very good at aerial duels. Which seems to be a problem for us.”

“Blades have shown their quality and fantastic work ethic. They also have a really mean defence and are good on set plays..”.

“You have to respect the Blades – well organised, great work ethic, teamwork, solid tactics, setup works for their squad 3-5-2 and they go right to the end. We have to be on it and match their commitment and work rate and of course manage their set pieces.”

“Just finished watching the Sheff Utd game. We are going to have to ensure we do not let them get any set pieces or corners, they were dominating Wolves tonight in the air. I hate to think what they’ll do to us”

“We are the top 3 of goals conceded from set pieces sooooo”

“They are very good on set plays.Long day ahead for us in our game against them.”

“this is a very scary game, our own set piece defending can really hurt us. But I already feel it will be a great day.”

“I have watched their last two games and they were causing Wolves and Burnley trouble in the air. God knows what they are going to do to us.”

“They are a physical, in your face side. Chris Wilder will have his team extremely well prepared on our weaknesses.
We need our most physical players for this one. It’ll be a battle. Hopefully their exertions against Wolves will take a bit out of them”

“We will need to play much better than we did yesterday. Jorginho will be crucial to bring structure in the game, as their style is to cause anarchy.
I dont think they will knackered. This is like a new season in fitness terms, you get fresher by playing more.
Its somewhat amazing how they are in front of teams with three times more valuable squads. tbf i had not heard of a single one of their starters before. Their average age is 28 thats ancient compared to ours. Based on individual quality alone we should walk this so its important we dont get sucked in their messy game and simply stick to our gameplan, dont give them any space to breathe.”

“I think this game will be a lot easier than the Palace game, we dominated the first half in the fixture at the Bridge and ran out of steam in the 2nd half. Seems like we are far stronger now in comparison to back then whereas Sheffield appear a little more wobbly in comparison to the standards they set at the start of the season.”

“They won’t have faced a Pulisic in full flight, so we could get an early penalty.”

“Interesting to see that they only have 34 goals in 33 games. I’m sure we’ll find a way to help them out with that…”

“whoever has heart problems, refrain from watching this.”

“I’m putting a TV in my bathroom so I can watch this from the safety of my toilet.”

“It’s a huge game for our season, that’s for sure.”

“can’t wait for Wednesday when we regroup, get back into shape and compete against a team of hardworking players”

“We are better away than at home . They are better away than at home. This is a game we really must try not to lose. A point is fine but 3 is better.”

“I think the lack of crowd renders any comparison of their home and away form meaningless”

“I fancy us to do it. Spurs gave them the game in midweek.”

“They have improved their form since their first few games back but a good performance from us and I back us to win in what’s an important game.”

“We went 3-4-3 in the game at Molineux. Think we were the better team on the day then, wouldn’t be surprised to see us revert back to that.”

“We were all over this lot at the Mol but really struggled to break them down after their early goal.”

“We are a better team than them and I want us to have a real go.”

“PPG would have seen Sheffield United finish above us. Shows how shambolic it would have been”

“Funnily the way the Blades play means we will have more space for wide players to utilise, I just hope he doesn’t drop Traore buy have a feeling he will. Go 3 up front and hit them early as their CH’s go on their forrays up front”

“it’s obvious our defenders are going to have to be prepared to hit with lots of highballs, it’s the one thing Saiss abd Coady concern me with”

“Simply have to beat Sheffield to keep our top 4 hopes alive and that’s probably one of the toughest games to play right now”

“Tough game for sure. They are a tough side” “This will be a really tough game.”

“Sheff U will be very, very tough Wednesday, we’ve got to be better”

“Not looking forward to it. Will be very tight and arkward”

“A massive game on Wednesday. Sheff Utd showed what they’re capable of against Spurs. Think it’ll be a draw”

“try and convince me that VAR isn’t in place to help out the ‘Big 6’, we’ve had some shocking decisions this season, as have Wolves and Sheff Utd”

“Two unfashionable teams disturbing the old boys club that is the top six”

“I really like Wilder and I have a lot of time for Sheffield United and how they’re playing this season. Clubs like ours need to stick together and continue upsetting those at the top with our fresh, new and exciting way of playing. Change is coming!”

“We welcome the Blades to Turf Moor on Sunday hoping to reverse the 3-0 drubbing we received at Bramall Lane last November. A repeat of the 1-0 win we achieved against the Blades in the 2009 Play Off Final would suit for a variety of reasons. Not least of which is Nick Pope’s pursuit of the Golden Glove where he holds a narrow lead over Alisson of Liverpool, Ederson of Manchester City and of course Dean Henderson. Burnley are in great form having picked up 21 points in their last 10 League games. Sheffield United suffered two successive 3-0 defeats against Newcastle and Manchester United on the resumption before returning to winning ways with a 3-1 win over Spurs last time out. The Blades will probably stick to their tried and trusted system of three centre halves combined with overlapping fullbacks. For Burnley Jay Rod, Chris Wood, JBG and Robbie Brady have all returned to training. Of these I expect Rodriguez (if declared fit) to start up front with Vydra. The fixture may come a little too soon for the other 3 to feature. Jack Cork went off injured at Selhurst Park so Pieters may be asked to continue in the left of midfield berth.”

“Now a very big match!”

“I’m feeling optimistic for the next match. Sheffield have had an incredible season so far but it’s time for the Clarets to shine.”

“Hopefully with an extra few days recovery and they have a tiring game tonight we can get something”

“Dont worry about last night’s result
Spurs are already on the beach
We’re better”

“The blades going through a sticky patch, their boat has sailed I think for this season.”

“Blades are on verge of imploding ,if we have Jay and Cork back we’ll beat em but if we have neither it will be a fight to the death to get anything at all”

“Despite all the talk of the Blades losing their way, after that result they’ve gone back into 7th place, incredibly tight just 3 points between 7th and 11th, so anybody in that cluster who can finish the season strongly has a great chance of European footy.
Huge game on Sunday now, we need all 3 points”

“Well it’s Burnley v Burnley on Sunday. They reminded me of us on Thursday. I actually clapped McBurney off watching on my own. Impressive”

“I think Wilder will be pushing them for a strong finish”

“Sheffield Utd are a seriously good, well drilled team. Proof that money doesn’t totally dictate in the PL. You’ve got to admire them and Wilder.
If they are on their best form they will batter us.”

“it’s going to be a bloody tough game Sunday”

“I’ll predict we’ll be better than we were at their place, as we couldn’t be any worse.”

“After the disgraceful performance at their place I’m hoping we’ve done our homework this time and are prepared to make changes on the fly if needed.
We’re on a roll.”

“if Sheff Utd play as narrow as they did against Spurs then hopefully Wood will be fit and we can play McNeil out wide and maybe Jay or Vydra as a 10”

“Both teams now vying for a Europa League spot gives the game a bit of added bite.”

“They are a very hardworking side and won’t have had much of a break before Sunday,Wilder has done really well this season,should be a good game.But vying for a Europa League spot – do we really want to go down that road again? We have had enough trouble trying to put a squad together for League games.Leave that to the top 6.”

“I think that we could win this one. But I don’t really want us to go into a European competition unless we can bring another four or five decent first team players into the squad.”

“Will be good if we can beat em to get them back for last time and to show them they aren’t all everyone makes them out to be!
..but I’m not hopeful. They don’t have selection issues like we do, and we won’t have much home advantage with no crowd!
Would love to be in Europe again, if we can find the bodies. “

“It’s a question of who wants European football next season with a small squad”

“It’s a quick turnaround for the Blades, they only have 2 days to prepare for the game against us. If their not 100% on it on Sunday, then we need to be ready to take advantage.”

“it’s asking a lot for basically the same eleven players to win three on the trot, when the opposition will have five first team subs available to them.
Of course, I’ll be delighted if they do. Certainly, in the mood they seem to be in at the moment, they have a chance, but Sheff Utd are a bit better than Watford or C. Palace.”

“We aren’t likely to score more than 1”

“neither teams exactly prolific, and both have strong defences, so i wouldn’t expect a free flowing goalfest. Yes our squad is stretched, but hopefully the extra few days of preparation works in our favour, plus a couple of bodies back to bolster the bench at least.”

“OK, our lads have had a bit of a rest, but it’s still asking a lot for 11 or 12 players to win a third game on the trot against a team that will probably have five first team subs available.
Maybe our bench will be a little stronger than it has been recently, but it won’t be by much and if Corky is missing, probably not at all.”

“I predict a Michael Brown sending off after 11 minutes”

“Huuuuuge game for champions league qualifications”

“I think it will be tight, relatively boring, and not a load of chances.
That said, I think we will win 1-0.
Classic Mourinho”

“I watched Newcastle play Sheffield utd.
Sheff utd struggled with the pace of Saint-Maximain and Almiron. Sheff don’t have any speed in their line up.
Newcastle played deep and hit them on the counter. I would be interested to see if JM does the same.”

“We need to play with speed against them. They don’t have any quick players”

“These guys are in free-fall.
Even at their best this they concentrated on being solid defensively. I think if we can go ahead we can win the game.
only this is vs West Ham we were so slow and pedestrian, that’ll play right into Sheff U’s hands. we need to be quick”

“Sheffield United have shown a real lack of offensive ability all season long but especially in their games since returning. If we allow them to sit back and congest things that is what they want, score early and they are likely done as they can’t defend well enough if forced to open it up and can’t create chances just by playing a basic game.. Score early, break what they want to do and then for once, cruise to a comfortable win.”

“They could very well be completely knackered by the time they play us”.

“They look turgid. This should be another win and a clean sheet to boot.”

“They’ve looked like utter shit in their games after the break. We should be expecting 3 points.”

“They have become rubbish, the injuries and scheduling have exposed all their limitations.
They are a championship team at this moment and we should expect to take 3 points if we play properly. I don’t see how they are going to score a goal unless we make a mistake.”

“They don’t look anywhere near the team they were before the break, which was pretty pleasing on the eye and solid defensively. Couldn’t beat struggling Aston Villa and were hammered by Newcastle. I think Henderson is a huge miss for them, arguably been the best goalkeeper in the league this season. O’Connell at centre half has also been a miss.”

“O’Connell is a more important player for them. We were after him as a LCB. he’s a good player. I think he’s got a bad injury.”

“They’ve lost 2 CB’s.
That’s the heart and soul of the way they play their system.”

“Typically they’re going to have their best defenders back to play us which will make them a different team. O’Connell has been their best defender and he’ll be back. We’ve been linked with him this season. An unglamorous option for us perhaps?”

“Three month lay off bad news for a side like Sheffield United who had played so well and above themselves for the first 7 months of the season. They’ve lost all the momentum they had”

“Need to smash them, get it dusted early and avoid knocks. Things shaping up how I thought really, the “streaky” sides – Leicester, Wolves, and Sheffield have lost momentum and look like shit…condensed schedule will bite their thin squads as well I imagine.”

“In their last game, they looked like they were back to pre 19 form in the 2nd half. Dangerous team with a solid backline. Hope we do win but but with our away record, they probably think they’re up for this”

“It’s a shame they’ve a while to sort themselves out before they play us.”

“Sheffield Utd should have won when they played us at WHL, they are organised if not spectacular, and are well capable of beating us in our current set up”
only this is vs West Ham we were so slow and pedestrian, that’ll play right into Sheff U’s hands. we need to be quick

“I’m a little concerned that we have a 10 day wait for our next game, as we don’t usually play that well after a long break. It’s a delicate balancing act between playing too much and big gaps between games.”

“This seems like one of those occasions we help a team in shit form restart their season”

“4 games for Sheffield United. 1 goal scored, 8 conceded, 0 wins and 1 point?
Step forward Tottenham Hotspur.”

“A very tricky game. After an excellent start to the season Sheffield United’s form has tailed off after the Covid-19 break. Won’t be surprised to see them turn it around against us though.”

“Sheffield look absolutely awful since the restart no goal scored 6 goals conceded.”

“I had a feeling this would happen. When a team has an unexpectedly good first season, there is always a big drop off the following season. With the covid break, this practically feels like the next season.
Still if there is one team you want to face when you’re struggling it is us. Maybe charity fc will be back after Southampton borrowed from us in the last game.”

“Do Southampton have Egan back for this? Their defence is built around its continuity, without we should be splitting them apart.”

“They’ve been shite since the “restart” so you never know”

“Sheff Utd out of form, so that guarantees they’ll knock us out of the FA Cup at the weekend”

“Sheffield United lose back to back games?? u know what that means they gonna beat us on Sunday in the fa cup quarter final”

“Sheffield utd getting tanked 2 games in a row. They must be saving themselves for the weekend”

“If we do somehow find a performance (and that’s a HUGE if), then it’s likely to be Citeh, Manure or the Chavs in the semi. That could be painful!”

“To be fair, anybody left now is a probable loss. If we beat this lot I think we will lose in the semis to presumably one of Leicester / Chelsea, City or United.”

“Remember not getting a shot on target against Phil Jagielka when he was forced to go into goal about ten or more years ago. Think they will be well up for this and not sure Arsenal will.”

“We will change all our starting 11 we got game against Norwich 3 days after Sheffield.”

“Oh for fk’s sake. Not another fg match. Hasn’t this fgseason finished yet? Probably lose. It’s a shithole ground where we’ve never really got anything apart from a win in the rain and mud in 1990-91. In fact, we’ve had some f***g shit performance up there over the last few visits.”

“The match that determins whether I’ll be watching any more footie for a while
The chance to win something and qualify for Europe………….low prize money though which is precisely why we’ll rock up with half the side missing……albeit its very hard to work out what our ‘first team’ is anymore.
Lose this and just sling yer hook and fuck off. Win and go all the way and you’ve given yourself a shot at redemption – simple as”

“Beat an out of form Sheffield United and you might just convince me our season is salvageable.”

” if we beat Sheffield Utd the dream is alive again! If we lose it’s over”

“Actually very confident for this one”

“I think we’ll win this quite comfortably. Looking forward to it.”

“2 days extra rest and they can’t play their keeper or Egan. Be a huge disappointment if we don’t win now.”

“Hendo is out so Moore will obviously turn into Buffon in this.”

“They were missing Henderson and Egan the last time as well, if I’m not wrong. I think they pulled off the draw because we couldn’t deal with balls in the box and had no midfield.”

“I think we’ll win. They were fortunate to get a very late equaliser after we turned the game in Sheffield. We had no Bruno or Pogba in that game, and they won’t have Phil Jones playing upfront for them next week.”

“I can’t see them getting anything without Phil Jones in creative midfield for them this time.”

“We owe this feckers and must beat them.

“We’ll smash them”

“Shows you how desperately shit everyone has been this season that this Sheffield United team which are painfully average, are in with a chance of finishing in the top 5.
Jesus wept.”

“They’ll finish about 8th”

“20 years ago… Teams with about 9 or 10 wins out of 31 games at this stage of the season would be usually fighting a relegation battle, not competing for european places”

“Sheffield United are poor/average”

“Sheff Utd could already be run into the ground when we play them. The schdule is ridiculous”

“3 games in 6 days. The fixture list killed them.”

“The integrity of the season is definitely in question to be fair. The 5 sub rule has totally changed the landscape. The bigger clubs have far more strength in depth so it’s been harsh on likes of Sheff United.”

“This will be a difficult game if we make it hard for us.
They will try to catch us on the counter and score a goal but we can definitely smash them – it’s Wolves that worry me!”

“they will offer very little attacking against us at OT and will rely on set pieces”

“They arent a set piece team. Chris Wilder is a great coach and the overlapping CBs is extremely innovative. Have a lot of time for their style of play.”

“Incredibly difficult to set-up against. Huge test. Three at the back seems obvious way of coping, but many will claim “too negative”. If 4231, wide players need to work socks off!”

“One team I still don’t understand how they play. Very difficult to play against”

“A difficult game as Sheffield United will be well organised and tough to break down. “

“They’ll be organized, but a draw doesn’t really help them. If they want to stay in the hunt for top 4, they need 3 points from this.
Could be a really good and open game, especially if we score first.”

“They’re not looking good since the restart, but they’ve still caused lots of problems for good and shit teams alike this season, and even without Henderson they’ll be a threat”

“Without at all wanting to seem patronising, I’d love to see us send more young prospects on loan to them if it was something their management were interested in.
The way Henderson has been allowed and helped to develop there has been exemplary. It just seems to be a well run and well coached club and a place I could see lads like Laird or Mejbri thriving in their development.
Unfortunately for us, I think they have probably outgrown that now and will be looking to entice their own prospects and stars, rather than develop them for clubs they’ll rightly be targeting as rivals.
Also, I’d love to see Wilder get a shot at the Ireland job in the future. Feel like he’d be a perfect fit for us.”

“No idea what to expect”

“maybe we’ve been having zoom conferences with Rafa behind SBs back”

‘we will lose. Sheff United will be up for this one after what happened at Villa.”

“Confident we will beat Sheffield United on Sunday”

“Sheffield United are an awful side to play against.. they’re are basically the Stoke City of today…Our counter attacking system worked a treat at their place, but I doubt Bruce has the brains to identify or remember that.I expect us to win regardless”

“don’t fear Sheffield United”Fancy us to do the double over them”

“We were fortunate to beat them earlier in the season”

“They showed no quality on Wednesday”

“ASM and Almiron will run wild for us on Sunday if Sheffield Utd play the way they did against Villa

Looking forward to ASM destroying Sheffield United on Sunday”

“I would say that based on this performance, there is nothing to suggest Sheffield Utd can’t be beaten on Sunday. However, given how bad we were at the best of times this season, I fully expect us to be substantially worse after this break”

“Sheff Yoo were robbed”

“It was basically match fixing”

“Took half an hour for the league to be a shambles again”

“The whole thing has been embarrassing.Hawkeye apologising, the canned singing, the fact David Luiz still has a professional contract. Can see the rest of the season being a sham”

“Last time I heard Chris Wilder whinge about VAR (when Shelvey scored against them), they got a huge VAR decision their way the following match. Sheff Utd’s next opponents.”

“Typically we’ve got Sheffield United Sunday, odds on the ref giving them a dodgy penalty to make up for the mistake in Wednesday… I can see it already!”

“they say when a big decision goes against you it normally evens itself out, typical we have Sheff Utd in their next game. I reckon a dodgy 1st half red card for us”

“We’re gonna face one pissed off Sheffield Utd side on Sunday. Brace yourselves lads.”

” Absolutely shambolic state of affairs that on Sunday. Newcastle will be playing Sheff Utd with neither club having fans there … but only one set of fans getting their money back.”

“Got an email in today from Man Utd saying that all season ticket holders will get free Sky Passes and Digital Programmes for Utd Home games in an effort to recreate the Match Day atmosphere.Newcastle have announced a similar scheme – they are sending a tramp with diarrhoea round to **** in your toilet.”

“A Villa – Sheff Utd game will never in history have more viewers. “

“Dreading this. Could go either way in regards to fitness, confidence, mentality etc.”

“I have a feeling they’ll be fitter than us. I don’t know why, I could be wrong, I just do.
I think we’ll lose unfortunately. We desperately need to win this one.”

“Just looking at the table and we have conceded 31 more goals than them so far! We spent lots on our defence and they spent nothing so full credit to Wilder and their players. They will be bang up for it as a win would take them within 2 points of a Champions League spot even if Man City win their appeal.”

“Well Sheffield utd have, no matter what the result, outplayed us every time we’ve played them since they got promoted to the championship. I’m not really expecting a worldwide pandemic to change anything really.”

“Well we all know wilder will have had them hard ar it during the lay off unlike our lot who probably bar one exception were following the rules and lounging around and jogging around the living room .
Just for once can we come out and muscle with them from the off”

“With the odd exception I didnt see any fight all season and I dont see us outbattling or competing with a Sheffield side who will be up for it from the off.
Fully expecting a typical Villa roll over and die. “

“I think there is a bigger chance in beating Arsenal.”

“Every time i’ve watched them this season they’ve been working their a** off. The effort levels they put in is remarkable. A real team unit and togetherness Wilder has created. A point would be an incredible achievement”

“I think Sheffield will know we are very weak phsyically in midfield and go straight in for the kill.
Hope I am wrong, but taking into account they are still in with a great chance of European football next season they wont do us any favours”

“Worrying contrast between articles from Oli Norwood and El Ghazi. Sheffield sound rating to go, some of Villa squad worrying about CV19.
Doesn’t sound ideal preparation for such a crucial match”

“OK, so Oli Norwood is thick. Does that mean he’s a better player?”

“They may be honest fears ligitamately expressed but it is almost tantermount too flying the white flag before we have even kicked a ball.”

“Sheff Utd are good. I envy their success so far this season. But this will feel like the start of a new season almost for these teams.”

“Sheffield United were promoted alongside us last season. They have gained 18 more points than we have to date. Our target is and always was safety. Their target has now become European football. They have enjoyed a season that has already exceeded their most ambitious expectations. However, they aren’t Manchester City and they aren’t Liverpool, and on our day, we can win this one! After all, we gave them a 3-goal start at Villa Park last season and still got a point. Their fans have been suffering from a bad case of over confidence”

“I’ve been looking at S24SU. They really don’t like us and do really expect to beat us easily. I hope they will get a rude awakening, it’s shocking how one and three quarters worth of good seasons, has made them feel that they are now Barcelona.”

“They are a strange bunch. We were never as dismissing of the opposition like that when we were actually good and finishing in the top 6 regularly and we had much better players than they have who were being coveted by the top 4 teams. At the start of the season they would have just been happy to not finish 20th so it shows what success can do to clubs’ fans. Then again, most opposition fans don’t seem to like us – not sure why as we haven’t been much good for a long while now.”

“While Sheffield have got Europe to play for to a certain extent, I would like to think our players and team, should/would be pretty much more motivated that any other by being so close to the drop and so close to getting out of it.”

“I think last season they got a long way on a sort of collective confidence bred from hard work and organisation. The break won’t change the organisation or the attitude, but it will have affected their confidence – when you’re on a roll and playing at an unexpectedly high level, a break of a few months can be very dangerous. I think they’ll be a little nervous and wondering if they’re still going to have the momentum that’s got them to where they are”

“Sheffield utd have big lumps at the back and just get it forward quickly. 2 fast forwards will give them more problems than 1 up top who will just get taken out.”

“We could stand to benefit as much of their game is about hard work which could be undermined by the loss of fitness due to the break. On the other hand their focus on the physical aspect of the game could make them far more prepared for the restart than us. In other words I have no idea what to expect.”

“Of all teams, I think Sheffield and Leicester are the two who can cruise to an easy win against us.
However … times have changed. Sheffield are well drilled but individually they aren’t great. They will probably be confident, over confident, and chinks in their armour will appear. Once we score, those chinks will become great big gashes. Class will tell. A clear win for us.”

“Sheff Utd rank the lowest for shots this season, with only 286, which is just over 10 per game on average. They seem to have one nilled many of their wins. If we can keep a clean sheet, then I think we stand a chance of points.”

“We have no less talent than the likes of Sheffield, Newcastle, Burnley, Southampton, any of the five down with us. Mings, McGinn and Grealish are enough to keep us in this league, if they stay fit and in form and the rest of the team pull together and play like professionals.”

“On Paper our team is better than Sheffield united. Sadly Paper don’t win football games.”

“No chance. They’re favourites here as they have better players and a better manager.
McGinn, Grealish and Samatta get into their team, no one else.
No, not Mings”

“The only players who are genuinely better than our current position (i.e. relegation battle) is Grealish, possibly Mings, possibly Mcginn (who’s been out injured too long to judge), possibly Samatta (who hasn’t been here long enough to judge) – all others are currently low-end PL or worse.”

“One of those games we could win or lose, or draw, in my opinion.”

“This break will throw up all sorts of surprise results for the run in”

“I’ve only had a glance at some of the Bundesliga and it confirmed what I already knew, football without us is crap. This isn’t gonna change suddenly with the Premier League for me personally, hope we can stay up but won’t be too fussed if we don’t.”

“We need get off to a good start and climb out of that bottom three as soon as possible, don’t want to still be down there if the nosaes is postponed again. Also if we return and just start losing again it will be hard to bounce back from that mentally as there will be a feeling that we’re just continuing from where we left off and any hope that the break will have done us good will have evaporated.”

“We were in freefall before the season ended and we most likely would have gone down at least this shakes things up and may well help us to stay up, if we go down now then so be it.”

“good the game in hand is being sorted first.”

“I don’t agree with the season restarting yet, but hey ho. I have a feeling that they are getting the games in hand out of the way in case things go wrong. I hope the team realise Sheff Utd could be our cup final.”

“This fixture is huge, and if we cant get right up and in their faces for this one then forget it.”

“Get the games in hand out of the way early then abandon it with no unresolved issues.
We had better beat Sheffield.”

“Without question this is what they are planning. An absolute cup final of cup finals is the Sheff United game”

“same for them though, a win will see them up to 5th…..”

“Well surely we will be bang up for it where Sheffield have nothing to lose either way”

“What a big game this will be.
Should be a cracking atmosphere”

“Beat Sheffield Utd, loads of players test positive the next day, league cancelled before weekend fixtures are played, league decided on PPG.
We stay up on PPG. Simples. “

“Our fate is in our own hands, we have to win its that simple. I think we will,. Grealish has rested which he needed and McGinn should be back. Be interesting to see clubs change their attitudes toward ppg should we climb out of relegation.”

“Just rewatched highlights of the first game against Shef United , they battered us ..recall last season in the 3-3 they did the same but somehow fell apart to let us draw.Very well coached and they are brilliant at over laps with the Wing backs “

“Shame Sheff Utd are our first game, yes I know why, but if there is one team that will be fit and motivated, its them. Hope DS is really ready for this.”

“I bet Sheff Utd are one of the fittest out the lot and have total focus on this once in a lifetime opportunity they currently find themselves in. Read somewhere Wilder had them doing fitness work throughout this break to keep in peak condition. Whereas Matt Targett openly came out and said we need 6 weeks or so to even get to an acceptable level of fitness whilst scoffing down a stuffed crust meatfest in his interview. “

” I’m pretty surprised this looks like resuming again and I am not totally convinced it will conclude with a full completion of (38) fixtures.
As others have alluded to, it will probably only last long enough to award Liverpool the title and a PPG system for relegation!
Other than Man City and Liverpool (for obvious reasons), I would say Sheffield United are probably the next team I wouldn’t want to face going on our recent results/performances against them.
It’s going to be a very tough start and I already fear for us (mentally) as we know with Wilder’s team they will be right up and at it from the off and I think this fixture was definitely one where the “12th man” would’ve spurred us on. “

“I don’t agree that the intention is not to finish it. As long there is no great spike in footballers tested positive then it will continue. As yet that hasn’t happened in Germany.”

“We should be better prepped for the restart than most with our midfield socially isolating our CBs and our lone striker being socially isolated from absolutely everyone.
Don’t forget to keep 2m away from your man at corners as well lads!”

“Mings should tell all opposition he has corona, nobody will go near our box. Maybe cough on a few opposition players”

“I think today of all days describes the scumbag Premier League. A Premier League managers father has died from corona virus complications. Instead of respect, they announce the league return date. Scumbags”

“We have had 5 separate goal scorers over the last two games. Beaten 2 ‘top 5’ teams and kept a clean sheet. Our Keeper has just delivered a stunning performance in goal on global TV, saving penalties.
The force of momentum is built on these aspects, and I can see us getting a result come Saturday against a team that schooled us a few months ago.
We have just gone two games unbeaten, and the team are champing at the bit with superb support behind them.
Are the footballing gods slowly turning towards us?
Momentum! Are we at last putting something positive together?”

“A few bumps on the road, but we’ve been playing better for a while now. The dice has started to fall in our favor. It just “had” to happen at some point. There is a real psychological benefit to winning a couple, and even more so if you defend well. Just be a little more confident and it’ll be a bit easier to concentrate, be more resilient to setbacks, a bit more intimidating to the opponent.
Sheffield will now face a team that has recently beaten Leicester and Tottenham.
I wouldn’t want to play against a team that has recently beaten Leicester and Tottenham”

“we’re giving ourselves a chance, and need to keep the momentum going against Sheff U”

“Keep it up lads! Having Pukki fresh will help us immensely.”

“if we beat Sheff Utd which is a tall order itself I’ll start to believe”

“They have just started to go slightly off the boil”

“Sheff Utd are the team of the season. Seriously. Forget all those top 6 teams. They can just buy success. Amazing what has been achieved at their club. Especially when there has been that dispute in the background”

“It’s great to see them mixing things up at the top end of the table with a proper team that’s not full of overpaid primadonnas. I ****ing hate Wilder as a bloke after his crying a few years back, but hard to deny he’s a brilliant manager and easy to see why Sheff fans love him.”

“the league doesn’t actually have to be at it’s best for it to be getting harder and harder for teams like us to survive in. Credit to Sheffield United.”

“good luck to them – but the last newly promoted team to finish 5th were promptly relegated the following season – you may have heard of them – they play in blue and white”

“sheff Utd spent around £44m we spent less than £2m, that show a real lack of intend by the board. “

“Sheffield Utd have done very well this year and I can understand that some fans are jealous of them, but their success is founded upon the players that they went up with rather than the purchases that they have made in the summer.1.all their bigger purchases only Olly McBurnie at a reported £20 million has played in half of their games (and scored 4 goals) – the rest of them have played fewer and some hardly at all. One £7 million pound 25 year old has been loaned out to a championship club. “On paper” the players we brought in during the summer looked a better bet.
2.In any case, one of the reasons that they were able to spend more than us in the summer was that they were in a stronger financial position to start with having been very frugal in the Championship. Luckily for them, assured of PL football next year, they are able to attract some better candidates now. ”

“I’m not surprised that Sheff Utd are doing well, as they were the team of the season last year IMO, despite the fact that we won the league. The Premier League is VERY physical, and VERY skillful, and that’s why it’s so difficult to do well as a promoted team with smaller ball control type players, especially if that ball control goes off the boil.”

“We simply don’t like a bully teams that hassle, full of big lumps, that knock us out of our game. Burnley, Watford, Brighton and all. Give us a footballing side and we more than hold our own. Doesn’t bode well for Saturday!!”

“Sheff Utd are far from cloggers…they play a bit of football””Being big and physical doesn’t make you a bully. I haven’t analysed it but it does seem to me that we fare better against teams that are smaller in stature.”

“I don’t see any traditional bullies in this league, bully in this instance refers to a more robust style, adopting an aggressive press (United did this and made us look very inadequate) or just generally bigger and stronger (Burnley, Watford, Sheffield United). Hopefully second time around playing these teams we may have learnt, to perhaps throw in the odd long ball to turn the defence and force the press back!”

“It’s also possible to be a decently technically skilled, big fast bully. Having been to Burnley (A), Wolves (H&A) and Sheff U (H) amongst others, I just can’t see that traditional divide any more, at this level”

“We don’t have the players to “outmuscle” and we definitely can’t rely on the officials to protect our players. I’m pretty sure a landmine could go off under one of our players and you wouldn’t see a flicker on a Premier league referees face”

“I fear the fatigue of last nights gruelling cup tie will be too much against a physical Sheff Utd side”

“Extra time worst case for us. Sorry but premiership should be more important. Great 2nd half, but i fear we wont have enough for sheff u “

“I hope all our players aren’t too wrecked for Sheffield Utd”.

“I see that of all the PL teams playing in the FA Cup this week, Norwich have been afforded the least recovery time before the weekend matches.”

“The Sheff Utd game should be on Sunday.”

“We can win every game and we can lose every game – it just is not written down anywhere that anything is certain, which is why I was not certain of anything at the end of last season – and it wasn’t certain – and this season I put in the prediction thread we COULD finish high in the table. It wasn’t ey-eye-addio we’re gonna finish 4th” it was simply recognising anything could happen.
If I was a Blade on a Sheff Utd forum and had put “we could finish fourth” at the start of the season, I probably would have been ridiculed there too, but it just shows how certainty is not a “thing” in football.”

“After Norwich had another famous cup win (on Nov 3 1993), guess who we had to play in the Premier League three days later? Yep, Sheffield United. At Bramall Lane. And we won 2-1. Goals from Jeremy Goss and Darren Eadie. Just saying…”