Our prediction for this Championship match:
All eyes will be on Pride Park when Derby County and Sheffield United face each other in the Championship round 27. The Rams have yet to recover from the 21-point deduction, with the team sitting in the ultimate position, eleven points behind the safe zone. Wayne Rooney’s troops face yet another must-win game against Sheffield United, and they are likely to leave their hearts on the field.
Goalkeeper David Marshall is no longer part of the team as he signed for Queens Park Rangers. The Blades, on the other hand, are on a four-game winning run in the Championship. Sheffield United aim to move closer to the playoffs berth, but beating Derby on the road is easier said than done. Iliman Ndiaye is widely expected to return to the starting XI after he was rested in a 3-0 loss to Wolverhampton.
Highlighted Player (Richard Stearman):
Born in Wolverhampton, England on August 19, 1987 Richard Stearman is a defender who represented the Three Lions at youth level. Stearman has four caps for England U21 team and he played nine games for the under-17 squad as well.
The 191-cm-tall footballer is a product of Leicester City football academy and he made his first-team debut with the club on October 30, 2004 in a goalless draw with Cardiff City. The English defender scored five goals in 211 appearances in the league for the Foxes before joining Wolverhampton in the summer of 2008.
He signed a four-year deal with the Wolves and he made his debut for the club on August 9, 2008 in a 2-2 draw with Plymouth. From 2015 to 2017 he played for Fulham and at the end of the 2016/2017 Championship campaign he joined Sheffield United. Richard Sterman’s main position is centre-back, but he is used as a right-back as well.
Highlighted Team (Sheffield United):
Sheffield United are a professional football club that compete in the Championship. The Blades finished the 2016/2017 League One campaign in top position in the standings, with the team collecting exactly 100 points in the process. Sheffield United last competed in the Premier League in the 2006/2007 season and they were more than unfortunate not to secure the top flight survival.
The Blades finished the season in 18th place in the process and it has to be noted that they were level on points with Wigan Athletic, who managed to avoid the relegation to the English second tier. Sheffield United welcome their rivals at Bramal Lane, the stadium which was opened on April 30, 1855. The current capacity of the venue is 32.702.
The club have numerous rivalries, but the most notable one is the rivalry with their city neighbors Sheffield Wednesday. The two teams face each other in the Steel City derby and it has to be noted that United share rivalry with the likes of Barnsley, Rotherham United, Doncaster Rovers and Leeds United as well.