Preston North End vs Sheffield United Prediction and Betting Tips: Back an O'Hare assist on Friday night
The Championship's 20th birthday kicks off with a televised affair between Preston North End and freshly relegated Sheffield United from Deepdale on Friday night.
Preston North End vs Sheffield United Predictions
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Ryan Lowe will pilot his fourth season in charge of PNE, retaining support from the club's fans and executives after last season's 10th place provided improvement on two consecutive 13th-placed finishes.
That being said, a 10th straight campaign in England's second tier must inspire the Lilywhites into another push as play-off outsiders despite the unfortunate end to their last campaign.
Sheffield United enter proceedings coming off a catastrophic Premier League season, where they finished bottom of the pile and set a new record for the most goals conceded (104) in a Premier League campaign.
Chris Wilder was unable to turn his beloved club's fortunes around last term, and will seek promotion despite an initial two-point deduction that the Blades have suffered for defaulted payments to other clubs.
A disastrous end to the last campaign saw Ryan Lowe's side going from play-off place contenders to finishing 10 points adrift of 6th following five straight defeats.
The manner of those losses and that run was also concerning, as the Lilywhites conceded 11 goals without reply and turned in a handful of performances that offered no glimmer of hope.
Despite some questions defensively and in goal for the Blades, Chris Wilder's side look well equipped going forwards. There's a need for Rhian Brewster to contribute more goals to this team, but reliable target man Kieffer Moore gives them a different dimension and a proven track record in front of goal.
More importantly, surrounding the two strikers will be the new energetic recruit Callum O'Hare and technician Gustavo Hamer, who are likely to rekindle their chemistry as former Coventry City teammates.
Historically speaking, Sheffield United have also had the edge over Friday's opponents, winning four of the last six encounters, and losing just once in their last eight head-to-head meetings.
Gustavo Hamer is the shortest priced player in this market at 19/5 for an assist, but we believe there's far more appeal for Callum O'Hare to achieve this feat on his Sheffield United debut.
Both players share the same number of career assists (44) - only O'Hare has hit this tally having played 70 games fewer than his fellow creator.
Shouts for the 26-year-old to improve his output are valid, and maybe a change of environment will go a long way in helping him truly flourish.
After making only 17 Championship starts for the Sky Blues last term, staying fit will be crucial for reaching his targets. But as the underlying data suggests, there's far more to be had from the Solihull-born playmaker.
He recorded an average of 4.09 shot-creating actions per 90 for Coventry last season, outperforming Hamer's per 90 numbers for touches in the attacking penalty area (4.19-1.36) and progressive passes (6.65-4.18) - all stats which hint towards his pivotal role for the Blades this campaign.
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