Preview | Sheffield United v Swansea City
Swansea City face promotion favourites Sheffield United at Bramall Lane tonight, looking to extend their unbeaten run to four Championship matches (7.45pm).
Luke Williams' Swans have taken seven points from their last three games courtesy of wins against Norwich and Coventry, plus a draw against Bristol City.
The Blades, meanwhile, boast an unbeaten record so far this term, picking up four wins and three draws to leave them sixth in the table heading into the midweek round of fixtures; having received a two-point deduction related to unpaid transfer fees.
TEAM NEWS
Swansea are hoping Liam Cullen will be available after missing the weekend draw with Bristol City through illness.
The Wales international was a late withdrawal from the draw with the Robins, but head coach Luke Williams felt he had a good chance of playing some part in south Yorkshire.
Andy Fisher, Josh Ginnelly and Kristian Pedersen will all be missing for the visitors.
PRE-MATCH VIEWS
Luke Williams: “It will be a ferocious atmosphere, they have a very good squad and a very good manager.
“So, if you go there and perform well then I think it should give you a huge boost in confidence because you know you are not going to face much more difficult than that.
“They are going to be in the mix to go back up, they are in that bracket.
“So we will need to be at our very best, we will need to be very, very brave.
“You have to be squeaky clean and do everything well, and then you have to add to that as well. That is the challenge for us.”
Chris Wilder: "We're trying to build attacks from the back, we feel we have players to do that, and most importantly in the modern game the importance of the goalkeeper and how he deals with the football.
"From that point of view, good. He (Michael Cooper) doesn't really take risks, but he sees clear pictures and most importantly, he's here to make saves and keep the ball out of the net. Everything he does is really tidy.
"The work starts from the front as well and for us to have a really good defensive record, which we all need, right the way through the season, we have to be really clear in terms of our organisation from the front, the press, the shape of the team behind it, and then for me it is an attitude to protect the goalkeeper."
MEET THE OFFICIALS
Leigh Doughty will be the man in the middle when the Swans face the Blades.
You can find out more about the experienced referee and his team of officials by clicking below.
REMEMBER THE LAST TIME?
Swansea City’s poor record at Bramall Lane continued as first-half goals from Sander Berge and Jack Robinson set promotion favourites Sheffield United on their way to victory in February 2023.
It was a familiar pattern for the visitors, who made a positive start but were undone by two moments of poor defending.
Berge firstly swept home from the edge of the area, while Robinson found the net when he was quickest to react to a rebound.
Joel Piroe, Ollie Cooper and Olivier Ntcham were unable to make the most of promising openings for the Swans and they could not find a way back into the contest.
Instead, the hosts had the last word as Oli McBurnie struck in the final moments against his former club to make it just three wins in 23 visits to this south Yorkshire venue for Swansea.
PRIME NUMBERS
3 - Bramall Lane has proven to be something of a bogey ground for the Swans, who have recorded just three wins in 23 visits to the ground, with the most recent of those coming in 2018.
86.2 - Lawrence Vigouroux's save percentage of 86.2 is the highest of any goalkeeper in the Championship.