The first spot at Wembley Stadium in the Sky Bet Championship play-offs will be secured on Monday night when Sheffield United look to convert a 3-0 lead from the first leg when they host Bristol City at Bramall Lane.
To say that Bristol City have it all to do here would be an understatement. They need to win by three just to force extra time so Sheffield United probably only have to stay out of their own way to book a trip to see the arch in the capital in 12 days.
Where to watch
The match will be shown live and in full on the Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football channels with the build-up beginning at 7.30pm ahead of the 8pm kick off at Bramall Lane.
Sheffield United
I think it is fair to say that Sheffield United were widely expected to win this semi-final but they probably wouldn’t have thought they would have taken quite the size of step towards Wembley that they did in the first leg. They are in a situation now where they have everything to lose and nothing really to gain but they might want to look across the city to know that a three goal lead can go in the play-offs so that should focus their minds a little at least.
The Blades will probably look to keep things tight in the opening 30 minutes here and not give Bristol City any encouragement. They will know they are likely to face a bit of an early storm but if they can negotiate that, or better still nick a goal on the counter or something and completely put the tie to bed, then they will be able to think about managing minutes and getting some into those who might need them ahead of the promotion final later in the month.
Bristol City
You would imagine that Bristol City will head to Bramall Lane with anger in their thinking. They worked so hard to get to this stage of the season and largely fluffed their lines in that first leg. They believe they were hard done to by the referee when he made a tie changing decision to send Rob Dickie off and from there Bristol City were always on the back foot and trying to cling on and still be in the tie when this second leg kicks off.
They are not in the tie now barring something quite special so at least they can play with some freedom and look to show what they are all about. If they get the first goal and it comes along relatively early then they might get the tension mounting but they need to find the balance between doing the amount of attacking that they need to do to try to turn this tie around and ensuring that they don’t get caught or leave themselves exposed to the attacks at the other end.
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Team News
Ben Brereton Diaz missed the first leg of the tie due to illness. In the lead up to that opening half of the semi-final, Chris Wilder suggested he could be fit for this match but with the tie all but won he might now choose to save the forward for the final.
Bristol City will be forced into a change after Rob Dickie was sent off in the opening game. That means he will be suspended here with Cameron Pring potentially coming for him. Scott Twine may be utilised from the start alone with Marcus McGuane and George Earthy.
Betting
We’re probably going to hear plenty of quotes suggesting why this tie isn’t over but you only had to look at the reactions of the two managers after the first leg to tell that this one is done and dusted bar the shouting. Sheffield United don’t need to win this second leg but I think they will. I expect them to start strongly here because they are well aware that Sheffield Wednesday overturned a 4-0 first leg deficit a couple of years ago so won’t want that to happen again and if and when they get the first goal they can cruise home.
There are two big issues for Bristol City for me here. Their away form is way inferior to their home form. The Robins earned 46 of their 68 regular season points at home and won just four of 23 matches on their travels. The other problem I have with them is against a team who can lump endless balls in your box, they are without their most dominant defender in Rob Dickie. Bristol City have won one away game in 15 since the November international break and having to go gung ho here they could just set themselves up to be picked off. Sheffield United are the better of these two sides and on home soil I expect them to prove that and book a trip to Wembley in style.
Tips
Back Sheffield United to beat Bristol City for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with Coral
