Sheffield United vs Aston Villa Prediction and Betting Tips: Best bets for Bramall Lane clash
In a bid to bounce back from midweek setbacks, Sheffield United, languishing at the bottom of the table, face top-four contenders Aston Villa at Bramall Lane on Saturday at 17:30, live on Sky Sports Main Event.
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Despite a strong start with Ben Brereton Diaz's early goal, Sheffield United succumbed to a 3-2 defeat against Crystal Palace. Manager Chris Wilder acknowledged the brilliance of Palace's Eze and Olise but faces a daunting task as the Blades sit eight points away from safety. Sheffield United's recent success in a 1-1 draw away at Villa will fill them with confidence that they can get another result in front of a home crowd, but the bookies are only giving the Blades a 40% chance of preventing Villa taking all three points. (Sheff Utd 5.7, Draw 4.4, Villa 1.66)
Sheffield United faces key defensive challenges with long-term absences for Chris Basham, John Egan, George Baldock, and Daniel Jebbison. Tom Davies and Max Lowe are nearing a return, but the Saturday game is likely too soon. Ivo Grbic, who suffered a head injury against Crystal Palace, is doubtful due to concussion protocols, possibly paving the way for Wes Foderingham's return. Rhian Brewster serves the final game of his suspension, leaving attacking choices for Chris Wilder, including Brereton Diaz, Archer, McBurnie, and Osula.
Aston Villa, under Unai Emery, suffered a 3-1 home defeat against Newcastle United, ending their 17-game unbeaten run at Villa Park. The setback saw Villa drop to fifth place in the Premier League, eight points behind leaders Liverpool. Emery, frustrated by the loss, aims to revitalize Villa's title challenge with upcoming fixtures against bottom-half teams. However, Villa face a challenging trip to Bramall Lane, where they last won in January 2018. Their away form, with four wins, four losses, and three draws in eleven games, raises concerns ahead of this crucial encounter.
Aston Villa grapples with injuries as Emiliano Buendia and Tyrone Mings remain long-term absentees. Pau Torres, Lucas Digne, and Jhon Duran target a later-month return. Returning from the Africa Cup of Nations, Bertrand Traore may be on the bench, similar to new signing Morgan Rogers. Jacob Ramsey overcame a thigh issue for a substitute appearance, competing with midfield stalwarts McGinn, Kamara, and Luiz for a starting spot, potentially impacting Tielemans, Zaniolo, or Bailey's selection by Unai Emery.
Sheffield United possible starting lineup:
Foderingham; Bogle, Ahmedhodzic, Robinson, Trusty; McAtee, Hamer, Souza, Slimane, Brereton Diaz; McBurnie
Aston Villa possible starting lineup:
Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Lenglet, Moreno; Bailey, Kamara, Luiz, McGinn; Diaby, Watkins
Sheffield United vs Aston Villa Tips
An angle that I tend to attack when given a good betting line is Aston Villa free kicks. They play the highest line in the league accompanied by the best offside trap in the league (110 offsides in 22 games). Sheffield United average 1.7 offsides in the Premier League, but teams see insane increases when playing Aston Villa, with teams hitting two, three, sometimes four times their averages against this regimented defence.
Sheffield United are also one of the highest for committing fouls in the league, averaging 12.3 per game, with Villa being the second most fouled in the league with 12.8 per game. Villa have now cleared this free kick line in seventeen of their last twenty-one games.
It also looks a relatively low throw in line for Sheffield United here, mainly due to the fact Villa are very good in possession and throws against them are rather low. However, when Sheffield United play at home, their numbers are just insane, averaging 21.8 throws in their eleven Premier League fixtures, only failing to hit this line against Man City. The next lowest they’ve registered at home is sixteen throws v Newcastle, then eighteen v Palace, with the remaining games all clearing twenty throws!
Back in December in the 1-1 draw, Sheffield United made sixteen fouls and four offsides registering a total of twenty free kicks. They also just scraped the throw-ins, registering thirteen, seeing this bet land at Villa Park.
McBurnie is down to lead the line this weekend and any striker leading the line against this Villa side shouldn’t be odds against for just one offside.
With 110 offsides against Villa in just 22 Premier League matches, exactly five per game, there's a huge chance that McBurnie can stray once or twice (2+ priced at 11/1). He isn’t prolific when it comes to being caught offside, Sheffield United's main culprit is Cameron Archer who has registered eight this season, but McBurnie has still managed to register four offsides across just 8.7 90s (0.46 p90) which would have him priced fairly with BetVictor if you ignored the fact they are playing against Villa.
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