STOKE CITY VS SHEFFIELD UNITED MATCH PREVIEW AS PETER CROUCH ROOTS FOR STOKE

Sheffield United square off against Stoke City on Saturday afternoon looking for the win which they may require to remain at the top of the Championship standings. Meanwhile, the home side are down in 20th position, a consequence of going three games without success in the second tier. Ahead of a home double-header against Birmingham City and Queens Park Rangers, Paul Hecking bottom had no reason to feel that his Sheffield United would not continue to strengthen their position in first place in the table.

However, despite extending their unbeaten streak to 10 matches with a draw against the former, the Blades went down by a 1-0 scoreline to the latter on Tuesday evening. Although the Hoops are one of the most improved sides in the division, defeats for Sheffield United at Bramall Lane are a rarity, and it has left the Yorkshire giants with much to ponder. Despite remaining at the summit, just three points now cover the top four teams in the division, and Heckingbottom’s side are under pressure to show more in the final third.

While they have 20 goals to their name from 12 matches, Sheffield United have not scored more than twice in a single fixture since August 30, a run stretching five games. Meanwhile, Stoke are struggling to show improvements under Alex Neil, the former Sunderland boss overseeing just one win in six matches since his arrival. The level of opposition should be taken into consideration with all but one of those fixtures being played against teams currently sitting in the top nine of the table.

Stoke City Championship form:

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Sheffield United Championship form:

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Stoke City possible starting lineup:

Bursik; Wilmot, Jagielka, Fox; Fosu-Henry, Smallbone, Thompson, Baker, Clarke; Wright-Phillips, Campbell

Sheffield United possible starting lineup:

Foderingham; Basham, Egan, Norrington-Davies; Khedra, McAtee, Norwood, Doyle, Bogle; Brewster, Ndiaye