Our prediction for this Premier League match:
Aston Villa welcome Sheffield United at their Villa Park in what is expected to be a David-vs-Goliath clash. The Villans came from behind to beat Brentford 2-1 at the weekend, with the team retaining third place in the Premier League standings. Villa aim to overtake Arsenal in top position and they are surely capable of keeping their 100% record at home intact. All Kamara, Buendia, Traore, Mings, and Olsen remain in the treatment room, while Youri Tielemans should recover in time to face the Blades.
Sheffield United, on the other hand, are stuck at the bottom with only eight points on their account. As Chris Wilder’s men have already suffered seven defeats on the road this term, we are going to bet on Unai Emery’s troops, who are a real force to be reckoned with at home. The likes of Chris Basham, Thomas Davies, Daniel Jebbison, and Rhys Norrington-Davies miss out with injuries, while Thursday’s clash comes too early for Rhian Brewster.
Highlighted Player (Leon Bailey):
Leon Bailey is a Phoenix All Stars Academy product who was born in Kingston on August 9, 1997. The Jamaica international played for the likes of FC Liefering and Trencin during his youth career, but he made his senior debut with Belgian side Genk in August, 2015 in a 3-1 win over Saint-Truiden.
The pacey winger quickly established himself as one of the best players in the Belgian top flight, but he scored only 8 goals in 56 appearances for Genk from 2015 to 2017. In the winter of 2017 Leon Bailey signed a deal with Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen for a fee of €20 million. Bailey is a left-footed footballer, but he is capable of playing on both sides of the field.
The Bayer Leverkusen winger made one appearance for Jamaica U23 team, but he eventually refused to represent the Reggae Boyz at senior level as he has personal problems with the association. It has to be noted that Leon Bailley scored 12 goals in 34 appearances for Bayer Leverkusen in the 2017/2018 Bundesliga season.
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.