Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the Championship match.
Bristol City have done it — they have secured a place in the top six, despite spending much of the season outside the play-off positions. For Sheffield United, the situation is quite different. Finishing third has brought more frustration than satisfaction, and now the pressure is on. Anything less than winning the final at Wembley will be seen as a failure.
Bristol City
That makes the pressure on Bristol City significantly lighter. There are no great expectations for them to knock out one of the play-off favourites. Only Sunderland are viewed with similarly low expectations. Despite going winless in the final three matches of the regular season, Bristol City clung on to sixth place, although they did slip behind Coventry City into fifth. One notable trend: each of their last four fixtures ended with Total Over 2.5 goals, including a 2:1 win over Sunderland — though the opposition had little left to play for by that stage.
Sheffield United
Sheffield United will be fully motivated — but will that intensity lead to nerves? The second leg at Bramall Lane is one they’ll expect to win, but ideally, they would want to take a solid lead into the home tie to avoid an all-or-nothing scenario. Their last four away games have had a major bearing on their season. They lost three of them — two to teams fighting relegation and one to Burnley — effectively ending their automatic promotion hopes. All three defeats came by a single-goal margin.
Bristol City vs Sheffield United Prediction
If they are to stand any chance of progressing over two legs, Bristol City cannot afford to lose this first match. In the regular season’s reverse fixture, the squad conceded a gut-wrenching goal in the 98th minute after a costly attempt to play the ball out from the back — a lapse that resulted in a turnover, a professional foul, and a red card. If the hosts can avoid such errors — which is entirely possible — they have every chance of earning at least a draw.
