Will the east Londoners get back to winning ways?

The Hammers’ 1-0 away defeat at Bristol in the FA Cup third round replay meant they failed to win the cup in embarrassing fashion. David Moyes’ side failed to score more than one goal in two games against the second division side. That is not enough, even against the 15th-placed team in the Championship. However, the clash with Sheffield United is just four days away, giving them the chance to redeem themselves for Wednesday night’s humiliation. The bookmakers are also assuming this, with the odds clearly in the visitors’ favor for Sheffield United v West Ham

Because who is better suited as a build-up opponent than the “Blades”? Chris Wilder’s team are bottom of the league and have just nine points from 20 games. It would probably take more than a minor soccer miracle for Sheffield to remain in the Premier League next season. The best conditions for the Hammers to get back on track in the away game at Bramall Lane

Bet365 offers betting odds of 2.20 on an away win for Sheffield United v West Ham. New customers also have the chance to claim the 100 percent Bet365 bonus in January

Sheffield United – Statistics & current form

The fact that they will have to fight against relegation this season was certainly already clear to those responsible at the “Blades” when promotion to the Premier League was secured in the early summer of last year. The team, which was still coached by Paul Heckingbottom at the time, finished second behind Vincent Kompany’s Burnley after 46 match days and were promoted without any nerve-wracking play-off games. Since then, however, everything that can go wrong in sporting terms has gone wrong.

The start to the new season was completely overslept, with the first win of the season only coming on November 4 at home against Wolves. Anyone who saw this as the time to turn things around and finally get going was wrong. A draw against Brighton followed, but otherwise the old rut crept back in and the team stopped scoring again. All these developments culminated in a 5-0 defeat against fellow promoted side Burnley. At this point, the sporting management pulled the ripcord and dismissed Paul Heckingbottom

An old acquaintance

A familiar face, Chris Wilder, was soon installed as the new coach at Bramall Lane. During his five-year tenure, he led the Blades from the third-tier League One all the way up to the Premier League, where they finished a respectable ninth in their first season. However, the team collapsed in the second season and were ultimately relegated in last place. At that time, Wilders left during the season and was replaced by Paul Heckingbottom.

Since the start of his second coaching spell at the club from the industrial city, he has at least managed to secure a second win of the season. A currently inferior Brentford were sent home with a 1-0 win. The final result is indicative of a problem that Wilders has not yet been able to solve. The “Blades” have by far the worst offense in the league. The fans have only been able to cheer a goal of their own 15 times this season. The game therefore does not promise to be a firework display, as the Hammers’ offense is anything but in top form at the moment. Thus, the prediction of under 2.5 goals for Sheffield United vs. West Ham at Admiralbet is almost inevitable.

Predicted line-up of Sheffield United:

West Ham – Statistics & current form

In contrast, almost everything is going according to plan for David Moyes’ team at the moment. The current UEFA Conference League winners have coped well with the departure of superstar and iconic figure Declan Rice and find themselves in a comfortable position. West Ham sit comfortably in sixth place in the league and could even catch Tottenham with a win.

Qualification for international business is therefore absolutely within the realms of possibility and who knows, the team from east London may even be destined for even greater heights. In the Europa League, the “Hammers” easily came out on top in a group with Freiburg, Olympiakos and Backa Topola and are therefore in the last 16 of this competition. The club could achieve what Jose Mourinho was denied last year and become the first team to win both the Conference League and the Europa League.

Only the two domestic cup competitions have not been good ground for the Hammers this season. In the League Cup, they suffered a bitter 5-1 defeat at Anfield Road and, as described above, did not exactly cover themselves in glory in Bristol either. However, it is safe to assume that Moyes’ side will be looking to make amends at Bramall Lane and make amends for the humiliation at Bristol. With Sheffield United vs. West Ham, the odds on an away win are therefore definitely recommended

Home is where Jarrod Bowen feels most at home

Or not, because in terms of Jarrod Bowen, the English forward has scored nine of his 13 goals away from home. Only Erling Haaland is a nose ahead of him in this category. In general, Bowen, together with Lucas Paqueta and James Ward-Prowse, who arrived from relegated Southampton before the season, is the man who provides the creative moments in the team. The three are extremely important for the Hammers and the loss of even one of the attacking players causes massive problems.

This has been the case since Paqueta was ruled out for a longer period with a calf injury and the Londoners also had to do without their top scorer in the second leg against Bristol. If the absence of one of the three musketeers is already causing problems, the absence of two is like a total loss, as the cup match impressively demonstrated.

Although Bowen is likely to be available again against the Blades, the betting on less than 2.5 goals for Sheffield United v West Ham is not unreasonable. Since it can also be assumed that Wilder’s team will park the bus in front of their own goal against superior visitors and play for a 0-0 draw, the home team will probably only score late, if at all. Therefore, the odds of 1.75 on “First goal – West Ham” are available in the Sheffield United vs West Ham clash.

West Ham’s probable line-up:

Sheffield United – West Ham head-to-head / H2H record

In nine meetings so far, the Hammers have come out on top four times. Sheffield won three times and the points were shared twice. Two thirds of the games ended with a score of less than 2.5 goals

Sheffield United – West Ham betting tip

It should be a clear-cut affair at Bramall Lane. Without shining in offense, the absence of Paqueta weighs too heavily for that, the East Londoners will probably be able to make amends for the cup defeat. The “Blades” must get their points in the fight to stay in the league against opponents in their league

Moye’s team, which is also making a name for itself in European competition, will have to concede little defensively against the weakest offense in the league and take advantage of the few chances that will present themselves against passionately defending opponents. The betting odds for Sheffield United v West Ham favor the visitors and a narrow away win seems the most likely outcome