Inform Hull challenge promotion aspirants
This weekend already the 28th matchday in the English Championship is on the agenda. The toughest second division in the world hardly gives the professionals a breather. In the two Friday night games, the two top teams of the league have home right. The first game is at Bramall Lane, with second-placed Sheffield United and Hull offering odds of under 1.70 on a home win.
Head coach Paul Heckingbottom’s home side have been in fine form for months now and already have a comfortable points cushion over third in the table. The visitors from Hull are currently only in 16th position, but the match will not be a foregone conclusion. The visitors have been in strong form since the World Cup break and have now gone six league games without defeat. The underdog role cannot be dismissed on Friday night, however, and there are plenty of arguments to predict a home win between Sheffield United and Hull.
The game kicks off at 8:45pm on Friday night, with current league leaders Burnley then kicking off their home campaign against West Bromwich Albion 15 minutes later. Of course, a preview for this match can also be found in the tip category Football England.
Sheffield United – Statistics & current form
Sheffield United started last season with the clear mission of direct promotion. But the Blades were quickly brought back to the hard ground of reality. Nevertheless, at the end of a very long and intense Championship season, they finished fifth and qualified for the play-offs. Even though this performance was not successful, the development as the season went on was very satisfactory. This can be attributed in particular to head coach Paul Heckingbottom.
Already in the relegation year, he took over on an interim basis at the end of the season (eleven games, nine points) before having to move back into the second tier due to the signing of Slavisa Jokanovic. However, he was finally promoted to boss at the end of November 2021 and has been delivering convincing statistics ever since. After 59 competitive games, he looks at a strong average of 1.89 points per game. Compared to last season, the Blades have twelve points more on their credit side after 27 games.
Nine wins in last eleven games
Even before the World Cup break, the team performed extremely consistently and their strong form was confirmed straight away after the restart. From the last eleven league games, Sheffield United have collected no less than 28 points out of a possible 33. Only the game against Rotherham on 8 November was lost, in addition to a draw against Queens Park Rangers in the first game of 2023. Time and again, the Senegalese Iliman Ndiaye is the outstanding player in Sheffield United’s games. Ten goals and seven assists go to the account of the attacking midfielder.
With 24 goals conceded, the Heckingbottom eleven concedes less than one goal per game on average, which is tantamount to the best defensive record in the English basement. Nevertheless, betting on both teams to score has been advisable in recent weeks, with five consecutive successful bets. Odds of 1.90 are offered for this prediction between Sheffield United and Hull. Given the strong form of the visitors, there definitely seems to be value in these odds for Sheffield United against Hull.
Last weekend saw a 3-1 win over Stoke City, with right midfielder Jayden Bogle scoring twice. After a lengthy knee problem (only his fifth appearance), he has finally returned to action and his pace makes him a good option. Not available due to injury are centre-back O’Connell and striker Brewster.
Predicted line-up of Sheffield United:
Foderingham – Egan, Robinson, Ahmedhodzic – Lowe, Berge, Norwood, McAtee, Osborn – Sharp, Ndiaye
Last matches played by Sheffield United:
Championship
14/01/2023 – Sheffield United 3 – 1 Stoke
FA Cup
07/01/2023 – Millwall 0 – 2 Sheffield United
Championship
03/01/2023 – Queens Park Rangers 1 – 1 Sheffield United
30/12/2022 – Blackpool 1 – 2 Sheffield United
26/12/2022 – Sheffield United 3 – 1 Coventry
Hull – Statistics & current form
Last season Hull City finished 19th in the English Championship, but there was never a particularly great danger of relegation. In the final standings, Shota Arveladze’s team ultimately had a 14-point lead. However, the Georgian has been out of office since the end of September. After seven games under the previous co-coach Steve Dawson, a young coach (38 years old) was hired in the person of Liam Rosenior. He was a professional with Hull from 2010 to 2015 and now has his first permanent head coaching job. After the first ten competitive games in his era, the result is quite positive, with only two defeats for the Tigers.
Goals are guaranteed at Hull
The English Championship is regarded as an extremely intense league in which the battle reigns supreme. Footballing class often takes a back seat and accordingly many matches are characterised by very close results. In general, it can be seen that relatively few goals are scored. Only 46 per cent of the matches in the current Championship season ended with three or more goals.
One team with an above-average number of goals is the guest from Hull. 2.81 goals per game are the second highest figure, only league leaders Burnley have seen more goals (2.89 goals on average). Both teams have scored in 16 of the 27 games. With the visitors currently in strong form, Rosenior’s side can be expected to score at least one goal against the promotion hopefuls. Between Sheffield United and Hull, predicting both teams to score is a very interesting betting option.
Predicted Hull line-up:
Ingram – Greaves, McLoughlin, Jones, Christie – Docherty, Seri – Longman, Slater, Smith – Estupinan
Last matches played by Hull:
Championship
14/01/2023 – Hull 1 – 1 Huddersfield
FA Cup
07/01/2023 – Hull 0 – 2 Fulham
Championship
02/01/2023 – Wigan 1 – 4 Hull
31/12/2022 – Birmingham 0 – 1 Hull
26/12/2022 – Hull 1 – 1 Blackpool
Sheffield United – Hull Direct comparison / H2H record
By all accounts, Hull City Tigers are something of a favourite opponent for the Sheffield team. Both the long-term historical comparison and the recent direct duels speak a clear language in favour of the Blades. After Sheffield’s PL relegation, the team won the away game at the MKM Stadium both last season and this season. Last year, the teams parted with a goalless draw at the venerable Bramall Lane. In total, Sheffield have won 14 of their 22 Championship home games against Hull.
Sheffield United – Hull Tip
Although the two teams are far apart in the current Championship table, this is a clash where both teams come in with their chests wide open. Sheffield have put themselves in an excellent position in the fight for Premier League promotion with their convincing results in recent weeks. But the visitors have also gone six games without defeat and are confident of their chances. Nevertheless, between Sheffield United and Hull it is very risky to bet on a win for the visitors.
The Blades from Sheffield have won nine of their last eleven games and are certainly a step above the visitors in terms of quality. Hull’s good form cannot be denied, so the Tigers are expected to at least score, but points are not expected. From this, the prediction “Win Sheffield & Both teams score” can be derived between Sheffield United and Hull. With odds of well over 3.00, there is a risk, but value cannot be dismissed out of hand.
