Sheffield United vs Tottenham preview, team news, prediction, kick-off

Watch Sheffield United vs Tottenham on Thursday on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event from 5pm; kick-off 6pm

Thursday 2 July 2020 22:27, UK

Team news, stats and prediction ahead of Sheffield United vs Tottenham in the Premier League on Thursday (kick-off 6pm).

Team news

Sheffield United midfielder John Lundstram is a doubt for the Premier League clash with Tottenham at Bramall Lane.

Lundstram could miss out after an arm injury forced him off in the FA Cup defeat to Arsenal on Sunday. The 26-year-old is set to undergo a scan on Tuesday.

Blades boss Chris Wilder said at his pre-match press conference that Jack O'Connell was "back on the grass" following the impact injury in training that has ruled him out since the restart and the defender will be assessed.

Tottenham have no new injury concerns to contend with. Juan Foyth (knee) and Japhet Tanganga (back) are the only two absentees for the game at Bramall Lane.

Mourinho has an embarrassment of attacking riches and could rotate his squad.

How to follow

Follow the match on Sky Sports Premier League without crowd noise and Sky Sports Main Event with crowd noise from 5pm; kick-off 6pm. Also keep up-to-date in our dedicated live blog with in-game clips, as well as highlights published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly after full-time.

Charlie's prediction

I thought Sheffield United were a bit better against Arsenal - but I do not say that as a gigantic compliment.

They made chances but should have done better with them. Chris Wilder's side can get agitated at times and they are giving away silly free-kicks again.

Tottenham still have issues defensively. Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen are not being selected, so does Jose Mourinho believe Davinson Sanchez and Eric Dier are the future? They kept a clean sheet last time so it may be the same back four in this one. Their full-backs are vulnerable, but Tottenham are strong going forwards, with Harry Kane scoring too against West Ham, but I see this being a draw.

Sheffield United will be annoyed for losing the way they did against Arsenal, and the way their league form has gone since the restart will be as clear an indicator as any that they must improve. They will try to rattle Tottenham and get stuck into them. I still think Sheffield United are good enough to take a point from this one.

CHARLIE PREDICTS: 1-1 (5/1 with Sky Bet)

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Opta stats

Sheffield United are unbeaten in their last five top-flight home games against Spurs (W3 D2) since a 1-2 loss in December 1975.
Tottenham have won their last four Premier League games in Yorkshire, and are unbeaten in their last seven in the county (W6 D1) since a 1-2 loss to Sheffield United in February 2007.
Tottenham's last competitive match in July was in the 1995 Intertoto Cup, with the London side losing 0-8 to FC Köln in Germany.
Tottenham have never lost in 12 previous Premier League games played on Thursdays (W7 D5), the best unbeaten record on a single day of the week for a club in the competition.
Sheffield United have failed to score in their last three Premier League games (D1 L2). They haven't failed to score in four consecutive league games since April 2000 under Neil Warnock.
Having conceded 3+ goals in just one of their first 29 Premier League games this season, Sheffield United have lost both of their last two by a 0-3 scoreline. The Blades have only lost three consecutive league matches under Chris Wilder once previously, losing three in a row in December 2017 in the Championship.
Sheffield United have failed to have more than one shot on target in any of their three Premier League matches since the season resumed.
Tottenham Hotspur are unbeaten in their last 23 Premier League away games against newly promoted teams (W19 D4), since a 0-1 defeat to QPR in April 2012.
Tottenham manager José Mourinho has won 199 of his 324 Premier League games in charge. Victory here will see him become the fifth manager to register 200 wins in the competition, with only Alex Ferguson reaching the milestone in fewer games (322).
Tottenham striker Harry Kane has scored 198 goals in 345 games in all competitions at club level in his career (five for Leyton Orient, nine for Millwall, two for Leicester and 182 for Tottenham). Kane has also scored 10 goals in just nine appearances in Yorkshire - however, Sheffield United are the only side Kane has faced in the Premier League without scoring against.