Round five of the EFL Championship gets underway on Friday when Hull City and Sheffield United lock horns at the MKM Stadium. Having failed to win the last six meetings between the two sides, the Lions will head into the weekend looking to get one over the visitors and secure their first win of the campaign.
Hull City failed to arrest their poor early-season form as they suffered a 2-0 defeat against Leeds United at Elland Road in their final outing before the international break.
The Tigers have now failed to win their last 12 matches across all competitions, claiming five draws and losing seven, including a 2-1 defeat against Sheffield Wednesday in the EFL Cup opening round on August 14.
Having finished seventh in the Championship last season, Hull City have picked up just three points from the first 12 available this term to sit 19th in the table.
Sheffield United, on the other hand, returned to winning ways last time when they beat Watford 1-0 at Bramall Lane. This followed a 1-0 defeat against Barnsley in the EFL Cup second round on August 27 which saw the Blades’ nine-game unbeaten run across all competitions come to an end.
Following their relegation from the Premier League last season, Sheffield have picked up two wins and lost two of their four Championship games so far to collect six points and sit eighth in the table.
Sheffield United have won their last three visits to the MKM Stadium and will be looking to extend their dominance over Hull City. The Tigers have stumbled into the new campaign and we predict the Blades will come away with a narrow victory.
Prediction: Hull City 1-2 Sheffield United
Tip 1: Result - Sheffield United to win
Tip 2: First to score - Sheffield United (The Blades have opened the scoring in five of their last six games against Hull City)
Tip 3: Over 4.5 cards - No (There have also been fewer than five bookings in eight of their last 10 clashes)
Sheffield United head to East Yorkshire on Friday to face Tim Walter’s Hull City as they return from the international break. The Blades, led by Chris Wilder, come into the match in solid form, having secured two wins and two draws from their opening four fixtures.
In contrast, Hull City have endured a slow start to their Championship campaign, managing just three draws before suffering a 2-0 defeat to Yorkshire rivals Leeds United.
While Sheffield United may have been reluctant to pause their momentum for the international break, Hull City likely welcomed the time off, hoping to regroup after their early struggles. As the two sides prepare to clash, it promises to be a fiercely contested match.
In the lead-up to Friday’s match, Chris Wilder provided an update, to SUTV, on the fitness of his squad, though he was tight-lipped on specifics.
“We’ve got a few doubts amongst the group, as you can imagine, but I’m not going to give anything away. We’ll do our best to get the boys who are doubtful back for Friday night.”
Sheffield United ended their last game before the break with an emphatic win over one of the most in-form teams in the Championship, Watford, a result that has given the team plenty of confidence heading into this next stage of the season. Wilder was full of praise for his side’s performance and the energy they brought to the game.
“We’re looking to continue in the way we left off with an outstanding performance and result against a team at the top of the division,” he said. “I loved the feel of it. I understand that we might have to be a little bit more calm towards the end of games from a discipline point of view, but I loved the feel of it.”
Although not a Yorkshire derby that most people circle on their calendar when the fixtures come out, Wilder acknowledged the competitive nature of Sheffield United’s trips to Hull, pointing out the history between the two clubs.
“I always think it has the feel of a local derby. There’s a lot of history between us, and it’s always a tough place to go. Fortunately, we’ve had really good results and performances there recently.”
Wilder’s reference to a 3-0 halftime lead at the KCOM Stadium during a previous visit, back in the 2018/19 campaign, highlights the Blades’ positive record in East Yorkshire – United have won four of the last five away games in the Championship against Hull. But, Wilder cautioned that Hull City will be desperate to turn their fortunes around.
“It’s not Sheffield Wednesday, and maybe not Leeds, but it’s still a tough place to go, and they’ll be looking to get their first win of the season,” Wilder added.
Chris Wilder is backing Hull City to give their best showing of the season when the Tigers host Sheffield United under the MKM Stadium lights on Friday evening.
City have not won a game under new boss Tim Walter since he took charge in July and were beaten 2-0 at Leeds United before the international break, ending a run of three successive draws in the opening few weeks of the Championship campaign.
The Blades, meanwhile, have started the campaign brightly following their dismal relegation from the Premier League and maintained their unbeaten start with a home success against Watford last time out.
City brought in four new players on transfer deadline day and all four could feature while Steven Alzate joined on Monday and may well be named on the bench, but the international break has provided new boss Tim Walter with some valuable time on the training pitch to integrate all his new players, something Wilder thinks will have been crucial.
“There were a lot of changes there in the summer, same as us,” Wilder told the Sheffield Star. “I suppose it was a surprise for everybody that Liam (Rosenior) went and an experienced manager was brought in from Germany. A lot of changes, and different way of playing as well.
“So they'll have been delighted with with the international break to get themselves going and working on certain things they need to work on. They lost some players but brought a lot in, lost at Leeds last time out which is no disgrace, and drawn the other three. So they’ve been competitive.
“It always has a feel of a local derby, there’s a lot of history between us and it’s a tough place to go. Recently we’ve had some good performances there, we always fill out the end and it’s always a lively game. We have to expect them to be at their best. It's going to be competitive, aggressive. It's got that little bit of a feel about it. It’s not Sheffield Wednesday, not Leeds but it's still a tough place to go.
“They'll be looking to get their first win of the season, and we'll be looking to continue in the way that we left off with an outstanding performance and result. I love the feel of it, I understand we might have to be a bit calmer towards the end of games with discipline.
“We have to be nice and calm in certain situations but I loved the feeling after the game against Watford, it felt Sheffield United. It felt what we were all about. And now what we have to do is show that consistency in approach and play, to keep what we’ve started going.”
