The last Sky Bet Championship match before the first international break of the season takes place on Sunday afternoon when two sides who have made positive starts to the campaign meet at Bramall Lane when Sheffield United host Watford.
Both of these sides go into the match unbeaten on their season but Sheffield United have drawn two of their three matches while Watford have won all five that they have played if you include their two cup wins as well.
Where to watch
The match will be shown live and in full on the Sky Sports Football channel with the build-up beginning at 2.45pm ahead of the 3pm kick off in Yorkshire.
Sheffield United
When you consider just how bad last season was for Sheffield United and the fact that they began this one with a two point deduction because of financial issues, this could easily have been an early part of the campaign which got away from the Blades, particularly with an extensive overhaul of ins and outs during the transfer window. It remains to be seen whether Chris Wilder has got all the pieces in place to achieve what he wants to do this season but he appears to have enough to have the Yorkshire side as contenders this term.
The Blades got off to the perfect start with a win away at Preston in their opening match but there are massive question marks over what they have beaten in that outing. Since then, they have let a 2-0 lead slip against QPR in their only home game to date and then went to Carrow Road and drew with Norwich last week. Given the turnover of players you would think that the international break will come at a good time for them to just get everyone together and work on a few things.
Watford
You never truly know how to predict a period of time when assessing Watford because each time you think they might do something the manager gets the boot into tournament and they go back to square one but given the start that they have made this season you would imagine Tom Cleverley is safe for the foreseeable future and it will therefore be interesting to see where he can take the Hornets. He certainly looks to have quietened down the outside noise and upstairs fidgeting that comes with this club which is half the battle.
Watford went to Millwall and won their opening game this season. I think there was an element of fortune about that win with them scoring straight from a corner and a direct free kick but then home wins over Stoke City and Derby County have followed. They are scoring goals which is not something we have always been able to say about the Hornets recently and while there is still a bit of a vulnerability about them at the back, they are beginning to control matches a lot more.
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Team News
Chris Wilder has suggested that Jamie Shackleton is progressing well from his injury but he isn’t going to be fit to play in this match while Auston Trusty joined Celtic in the week so he won’t be a part of the Blades squad either.
Imran Louza went off with an injury in the win over Plymouth in midweek so he isn’t going to be available for the trip to Bramall Lane. Vakoun Bayo was signed by Udinese on deadline day but was loaned back and he could start.
Betting
I’m not yet in a position where I am comfortable betting big on either of these sides. Sheffield United just look a bit of a work in progress whereas I’m far from convinced that the good Watford start is largely just down to a bit of a soft schedule to begin the campaign with. With that in mind, I’m going to look for a bet in the side markets and the one which I do feel fairly confident with comes in the form of the both teams to score one.
I think yes is the way to go here. Sheffield United have conceded in two of their three matches so far and the only clean sheet they have managed was at Preston North End who were in the middle of seven games without scoring at the time. Watford have only kept one clean sheet against a less than fantastic Stoke side though so there are doubts over both defences. There are goals in this Watford side though and there should be in Sheffield United on home soil with the likes of Gustavo Hamer pulling the strings. I like both teams to score yes here.
Tips
Back Both teams to score for a 3/10 stake at 1.75 with Coral
