The second team to compete for a place in the Premier League in the Sky Bet Championship play-off final will be determined on Tuesday evening when Nottingham Forest host Sheffield United in the second leg of their semi-final.
The Tricky Trees left Bramall Lane with a 2-1 victory on Saturday and will be hoping this is a victory lap in front of their own fans. Sheffield United make the trip down the M1 knowing that they have to win on the night else their season is done.
Where to watch
The match will be shown live and in full on the Sky Sports Football channel with the build-up at the City Ground beginning at 7.30pm ahead of the kick off 15 minutes later.
Nottingham Forest
I’m sure if you had asked anyone of a Nottingham Forest persuasion they would have been delighted to come away from Bramall Lane with any kind of win but when you actually saw how the first leg played out they could be forgiven for feeling a tinge of disappointment that their advantage is just the one goal. Nevertheless, they are in a wonderful position to make it through to the final and setup a shot at a return to the Premier League.
What Forest can’t afford to do here is feel sorry for themselves because they should have been away and gone in this tie after the first leg. The other thing they can’t afford is to be stuck between two minds, not knowing whether to go out and win the game and put it to bed or whether to hold on to what they have got. Whatever their plan they need to be clear on it and execute it. The positive for them is Sheffield United have to come onto them and that should suit Forest perfectly.
Sheffield United
It looked like Sheffield United would have to create history in order to keep the dream of an immediate return to the Premier League alive but they gave themselves a huge lifeline with their goal in injury time in the first leg. They still have it all to do to make it to Wembley but the options for a gameplan here are a lot more varied than they would have been if they came into this second leg trailing 2-0.
The one thing the Blades surely have to do is control the right side of the Forest team much better than they did at Bramall Lane. It is easier said than done but that is the part of the Nottingham outfit which can destroy any side and the last thing the Yorkshire outfit need is those two to get the crowd going. The other thing Sheffield United will need to do is be clinical. Chances might not come readily unless the home side get nervous so scoring when on top will be crucial.
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Team News
Keinan Davis came off the bench in the first leg of the tie and he might be able to deliver a longer showing in this second leg. Ryan Yates was visibly struggling with a shoulder issue at Bramall Lane and could be a doubt for this return game.
The first leg came too soon for Billy Sharp for Sheffield United but it might be that with the way the tie is poised that it is worth the risk of having him involved in this game, even if it is only on the bench. George Baldock could start to give balance down the right.
Betting
The two league matches between these two and the first leg of this semi-final were all feisty affairs and given what is at stake in this match it would be foolish to think we are going to get any different. All three contests were littered with cards and that is certainly a trend I expect to continue. Andre Marriner handed out seven cards on Saturday, five of which came in a frantic first half, the likes of which I think we’ll see throughout the match here.
Michael Oliver is the referee in this second leg. He arrives at the match off the back of sending two Everton players off on Sunday and issuing three more yellow cards. He is an official who doesn’t let a lot go so I’m expecting the cards to be brandished fairly regularly here, particularly late on in the game when everyone starts getting a little desperate. You can get the booking points for this match at 45.5 which has covered on all three occasions with six yellows in their first meeting, five in the second and seven on Saturday. We might well get the five yellows needed to cover it here but a red card can’t be ruled out either which means we would need just three yellows. Either way I fancy this line gets covered.
Tips
Back Over 45.5 booking points for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with Boylesports
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