Columnist Sam Wright previews Tuesday nights npower League One trip to Sheffield United;
Walsall go into this one without a win in 4 league games after Crewe’s last minute equaliser at the Banks’s stadium on Saturday. A full squad is available for Dean Smith but the real big decision he will have to make is whether to return to 4-4-2 or stick with one up top as he has last 2 games. After a very poor second half Saturday though, I feel most fans would like to see Bowerman return to the starting line up at somebody’s expense, whether this be Grigg, Baxendale, Paterson or Chambers. We will have to wait to see what ‘Ginger Mourinho’ chooses on Tuesday as he faces arguable his toughest decision to date.
Walsall go into this one without a win in 4 league games after Crewe’s last minute equaliser at the Banks’s stadium on Saturday. A full squad is available for Dean Smith but the real big decision he will have to make is whether to return to 4-4-2 or stick with one up top as he has last 2 games. After a very poor second half Saturday though, I feel most fans would like to see Bowerman return to the starting line up at somebody’s expense, whether this be Grigg, Baxendale, Paterson or Chambers. We will have to wait to see what ‘Ginger Mourinho’ chooses on Tuesday as he faces arguable his toughest decision to date.
Sheffield United themselves
are having the good season they expected so far, and currently sit 3rd
in League One. They come in to the game off the back of a 1-0 victory away at
Preston on Saturday, in which Dave Kitson’s third goal of the season gave them
the points. They are surely going to be a tough test to overcome, having gone
18 games without defeat now, and a win could take them into the automatic
promotion spots.
In the past we haven’t
clashed regularly with the Blades, but have struggled in the 11 games when we
have travelled to Bramall Lane, winning just 2 compared to the 7 we have lost.
Last season, we travelled to Sheffield very early on in the season, and at 2-0
were briefly top of the league as results stood before they bagged 3 second
half goals to snatch the points and bring us back down to earth.
Overall I feel this will be
a very tough game, but we should not rule ourselves out of it if we can play
some of the football we know we are capable of, and I am backing us to snatch a
draw out of this one.