Both Sheffield United and Middlesbrough will be looking to maintain their unbeaten runs in the Championship when they lock horns in their first 2022 action at the Bramall Lane on Saturday the 1st with kickoff at 15:30.
Sheffield United have been in a fine form lately under the new tutelage of Paul Heckingbottom with the club currently boasting a four-match winning streak in the Championship and pushing for the top-10 spots.
Heckingbottom has indeed been doing fine at Sheffield and he has managed to get them to the 12th spot in the rankings and are just three points behind the seventh-placed QPR, meaning that another positive result would leave them in the promotion mix.
The Blades were not in action in the midweek as their fixture against Hull City was called off and as a result Sheffield are coming off an impressive 1-0 win against Fulham with Iliman Ndiaye giving them the crucial three points.
Their recent resurgence is all due to their solidity at the back with Heckingbottom’s side keeping clean sheets in three of their last four matches and they will be looking to build on their recent form as they aim at climbing further up the table.
Meanwhile Middlesbrough’s manager Chris Wilder will be looking to achieve similar success he was able to achieve with Sheffield United in 2019 as he helped the Blades earn a promotion to the top-flight. His side now Middlesbrough are currently in the playoff mix with the club recording 11 wins, six draws and eight defeats to collect 39 points which have left them occupying the fifth spot with six points behind Fulham in the second-place.
Middlesbrough have also been in a good form with the club going unbeaten in their last six Championship matches drawing just one while winning all the other remaining five and are coming off a three-match winning streak including the 2-1 away win against Blackpool in the midweek.
Boro have also been solid at the back recently conceding just one goal in their last five matches and will be also be going for the three points as they are aiming at staying I the top six, making this a close a fight and will be fascinating to see how this plays out.
Sheffield vs Middlesbrough head to head
Both sides have met in 17 encounters since 1994 with Middlesbrough claiming seven victories while Sheffield have claimed six and there have been four draws.
- Middlesbrough 2-0 Sheffield
- Sheffield 1-0 Middlesbrough
- Middlesbrough 3-0 Sheffield
- Sheffield 2-1 Middlesbrough
- Middlesbrough 1-0 Sheffield
Home
- Fulham 0-1 Sheffield
- Cardiff 2-3 Sheffield
- Sheffield 2-0 Bristol City
- Reading 0-1 Sheffield
- Sheffield 0-0 Coventry
Away
- Blackpool 1-2 Middlesbrough
- Middlesbrough 2-0 Nottingham
- Middlesbrough 1-0 Bournemouth
- Stoke 0-0 Middlesbrough
- Middlesbrough 1-0 Swansea
Sheffield United team news
Morgan Gibbs-White will miss due to a knee injury for Sheffield United.
Middlesbrough team news
Middlesbrough might be without Jonny Howson who needs to be assessed before the match while Sol Bamba is unavailable.
Prediction and odds
- Draw
- Both sides to score
- Goals under 2.5
