Sheffield United v Cardiff: In-form Bluebirds may blunt Blades

Sheffield United v Cardiff
Easter Monday 2nd April, 19:45
Live on Sky Sports

Sheffield United looking for overdue victory

Sheffield United moved to within a point of the top-six following a bad-tempered 1-1 draw at Brentford on Good Friday. Chris Basham's deflected effort gave the Blades the lead, only for the Bees to level through Chris Mepham - a goal that saw United keeper Jamal Blackmanand home midfielder Ryan Woods sent off after clashing in the aftermath.

Clayton Donaldson and Leon Clarke forced good saves as Sheffield United pushed for a late winner but Chris Wilder's team were ultimately disappointed having had to settle for a share of the spoils at Griffin Park despite their dominance.

Post-match, Wilder admitted he was "proud of the performance" from his side as they put in "one of the best performances in my time here". The Blades boss continued, "If the players produce that up until the end of the season then we are not going to be far off."

Eight wins on the spin for Cardiff

Cardiff took another step towards automatic promotion as they battled past strugglers Burton on Good Friday. The Bluebirds made it eight wins on the spin thanks to goals from Kenneth Zohore, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and Callum Paterson, extending their buffer to third-place to seven points.

The capital club took a 16th-minute lead with Zohore scoring his fourth in his past matches before Burton levelled. But City's momentum soon took charge and, after spurning chances to regain their lead earlier, the Welsh outfit were able to make their dominance count.

The success means Neil Warnock's men can equal a 71-year club record at Bramall Lane should they extend their current winning streak. Not since 1947 have Cardiff won nine league games in a row.

Bluebirds make Asian Handicap appeal

Sheffield United 2.58 are winless in their last five Bramall Lane battles with Cardiff (W0-D3-L2) but the pair are meeting for the first time here since April 2011. Having spent the majority of the campaign perched inside the play-off places, the Blades are hoping to piece the top-six with a victory here.

The hosts have won just once in five (W1-D3-L1) - against struggling Burton - and returned W4-D3-L4 at their South Yorkshire base since mid-November. The triumphs came against opposition that averaged 18th in the table while United have lost three of their five when welcoming top-six opposition.

Cardiff 3.00 arrive on the back of a stunning 12-match unbeaten streak (W10-D2-L0). The Bluebirds have collected 31 points from their 18 away days and boast the division's best defence, marking the visitors out as solid [2.09] shots off a scratch 0 start on the Asian Handicap line.

Both sides may oblige at Bramall Lane

Each of the past four showdowns between the two teams have featured fewer than three goals but there's better potential in punting the 1.88 available for Both Teams To Score on Easter Monday.

Sheffield United have scored at least twice in three of their last four at Bramall Lane, and the Blades have notched in all bar five of their home fixtures since promotion. In fact, Chris Wilder's troops have fired a solitary blank in seven games when hosting top-half sides.

Despite Cardiff's obvious defensive strength, the Bluebirds have recorded only two clean sheets in eight games as guests now, with six of their eight trips to top-half teams paying-out for Both Teams To Score backers.

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