It’s always fun to focus on the Premier League, because let’s face it, it’s probably the most entertaining league in the world. With that being said it can also be pretty fun to take a step back and look a little bit further down the rankings – to the Championship. The second tier of English football is considered to be the most exciting division outside of Europe’s top leagues, and for good reason. The unpredictability of the playoffs, in addition to the constant surprises on a week by week basis, often leave us all on the edge of our seats.

This weekend has been no different, and we’re pretty confident that trend will continue as we look ahead to Monday Night Football. Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United will be squaring off in the Steel City derby, following on from the North London, West London & Merseyside derbies that we’ve already seen this weekend. These two teams are in different situations but that doesn’t mean the stakes aren’t still incredibly high, and if nothing else, the bragging rights that are up for grabs mean more to the fans of these two teams than anyone outside of the Sheffield bubble could ever know.

Wednesday, under the guidance of Steve Bruce, are lingering around the mid table spot after a few years of challenging for the playoffs. There’s still a mathematical chance that they could mount a late surge, but they’d probably be better off building for next season. With that being said they’re certainly not going to lie over and allow their rivals to walk all over them, especially as that’s been the way things have been for quite some time now. They want to alter the status quo, and if they want the tables to turn then there’s no better time than tomorrow night.

Sheffield United know that a win in this game will vault them back into the automatic promotion spots in the Championship, and really, that’s all the motivation they should need. Many neutrals and fans of the respective teams will admit that they’re probably the stronger team out of the two, and as such, the pressure will be on their shoulders – even though they’re away from home. They’ve got all the talent necessary within their squad to cause some real problems in this game, and if they’re serious about their promotion push, then they can’t really afford a big slip up at this stage of the campaign.

Wednesday have been slowly but surely turning things around under Bruce, with a busy February period to show for it. They began their recent run with a narrow 1-0 win over Ipswich Town, before registering three consecutive draws against Reading, Millwall and Rotherham United. Swansea City came to town and were sent packing with a nice 3-1 win for Bruce’s men, and shortly after that, they were able to cruise to a convincing 2-0 win over Brentford. In this league, that kind of stretch shouldn’t be undervalued in any way, shape or form.

Sheffield United’s last six game stretch began with an entertaining 2-2 draw against Norwich, followed up by a nice 2-0 win over Bolton. They then went to war with Aston Villa in a 3-3 classic, before defeating Middlesbrough 1-0. They went on to tear through Reading with an emphatic 4-0 win, and in their last outing, they saw off fellow promotion chasers West Bromwich Albion. With a nice unbeaten run under their belt and three consecutive clean sheets, you could definitely make the argument that there’s no reason for them to be afraid of their greatest rivals heading into this meeting.

With the first meeting between these teams coming in 1891, it’s obvious to suggest that these two teams know each other pretty well. They’ve had a lot of close games over the years with Sheffield United just about leading the overall head to head standings, with a nice 49-48 advantage alongside 46 draws. Their two meetings last year left a lot to be desired, with their January encounter ending 0-0 and the November game finishing 0-0 too. However, given that the game before that finished 4-2 to United, you’d have to imagine that there’s a possibility of these two teams drawing one another into a shootout at Hillsborough. Sure, it’s unlikely, but we can dream.

Wednesday are set to check on the fitness of Jordan Thorniley and Morgan Fox prior to the derby, with both missing the club’s last two games due to a back issue and a concussion respectively. Achraf Lazaar was brought off in the win against Brentford and is set for a spell on the sidelines, which is a shame for Bruce’s side. Still, even with those potential absences, it feels like this team is finally starting to function as a cohesive unit, and that should give the manager and the fans a lot of reasons to get excited about their future.

Jack O’Connell, who is considered to be a key figure for Sheffield United, is set to return in time for the derby. He’s missed the last three games courtesy of a hamstring problem, but after recently signing a new contract, he’s expected to make an impact of some description in this game. John Egan was taken off against West Brom but should still be available for this one, with George Baldock in contention for a start following his calf issue. When you match these two teams up against one another it certainly seems like United have the edge, but they can’t afford to get complacent.

Sheffield Wednesday vs Sheffield United Betting Prediction

United are going to try and control the pace of this game in the middle of the park, and we think they’re going to do so successfully. As we’ve seen in recent meetings a goalfest isn’t something that should necessarily be expected from this game, regardless of how both teams have been performing as of late. We think Wednesday are going to cause some problems for their rivals early on, but as things progress, they’ll start to get tired and the Blades will begin to take over.

From that point on there’s only one way we can see this going, and that’s a narrow Sheffield United win – perhaps from a penalty, awarded after United’s forwards trick their way into the box and force the foul. It’s not going to be the prettiest of derbies if things go the way that we’re expecting, but there are certainly going to be some yellow cards for fans to debate over in the pub when it’s all said and done.

At the end of the day, though, this is a pretty important derby game, and there will certainly be some fireworks which is all you can really ask for.

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