Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Sheffield United
English League Championship
Date: Saturday, 3rd February 2018
Kick-off at 17:30 UK/ 18:30 CET
Venue: Molineux (Wolverhampton).
Wolves haven’t been at their best so far in 2018 and the goals have dried up slightly for the Molineux club but they remain in a very commanding position at the top of the Championship and it would take a massive collapse for them not to secure promotion from this position. Sheffield United are still playing pretty well and remain in play-off contention but they’ll do very well to get anything from this game.
The Blades put in a huge effort against Aston Villa in midweek, enjoying some real spells of dominance only to see the game settled by a last minute strike from Robert Snodgrass. That would have come as a real mental blow while physically they could also struggle here against a side that has benefited from a full week off to prepare for this game.
The Blades could potentially be 5 points outside the play-off positions by the time this one kicks off and it’s tempting to jump to the conclusion that they are now just sliding slightly out of the promotion picture. That’s no disgrace given they are a newly promoted club but perhaps they are just short on that sprinkling of genuine quality that Snodgrass provided for Villa in midweek for example.
Wolves are not lacking in that department either and they’d have been delighted to seal a permanent deal for Diogo Jota this week. He’s been arguably the player of the season so far in this league while their loan capture of former Molineux favourite Benik Afobe on deadline day looks a smart piece of business given Leo Bonatini has lost his way a little up top.
It’s only been a minor blip for Wolves though in truth and their 1-0 win at Ipswich last weekend suggests they may be over it already. With a 71% win ratio on home soil this season, there’s plenty of reason to fancy them here and given how they’ve totally bossed this division up until this point, it’s a bit of a surprise that they aren’t even shorter for the win with the bookies than they are.
Overall backing a Wolves Win does look a pretty solid bet here. They won’t have things completely all their own way against a very hard-working Sheffield United side though and given Wolves have only netted twice in their last five matches in all competitions, going for a 1-0 Home Win might be worth considering in the correct score market.
Wolves vs Sheffield: Head-to-head
Before Nottingham’s defeat Wolves have kept 4 consecutive clean sheets at home
In the last 5 Wolves home games at least one of the teams failed to score
Sheffield are unbeaten in 3 league games away from home
Wolves are unbeaten in 5 games at home against Sheffield but have won only 2 of those
Last Game finished 2-0 for Sheffield
Wolves vs Sheffield: Predictions
Despite the huge lead Wolves are still looking to win every game. The team has a lot of class and looks ready for the Premier League and will fight for every point available. Sheffield are a decent team but they tend to struggle when put under pressure.
Wolves have the tendency to take a lead and then just shut the game down in the center if the field. The team often keeps clean sheets and with Sheffield not at their best we may see a low scoring game with a heavy midfield battle.
