Brentford vs Sheffield United: Betting Odds & Prediction
(Featured image: Alamy Images)
Brentford face off against Sheffield United in an important clash at the bottom of the Premier League.
Thomas Frank’s side have been dragged into the thick of a relegation battle in recent weeks, while the Blades’ hopes of staying up are diminishing by the week and they really need a win if they are to have any chance. Kick-off will be Saturday 3pm at the Gtech Community Stadium.
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Brentford
The Bees are looking nervously over their shoulder after a run of nine league games without a win. They are now in 15th with 29 points, just four points clear of Luton in 18th. Last time out they picked up a good point in a 3-3 draw away to Aston Villa, having come from 2-0 down to lead before conceding a late equaliser. Brentford have drawn three and lost two of their last five home games, although they have been tough fixtures – Brighton, Man Utd, Chelsea, Liverpool and Man City.
However, despite being competitive in most home games this season, they have not on the whole been able to replicate their strong form there that has been the bedrock of their success in the Premier League. They have the fifteenth best home record, corresponding to their league position, and have averaged just 1.13 points per game. They have conceded an alarming 30 goals in 16 home games, which is the third worst in the division, and games at Brentford have averaged 3.44 goals a game, with both teams scoring in 81% of matches.
Ivan Toney was only fit enough to make the bench against Aston Villa, but his absence paved the way for Bryan Mbeumo to make his first start after three months out with an ankle injury, and the Cameroon forward picked up where he left off earlier this season by scoring. Thomas Frank will be hoping that Toney recovers and he is able to call on his first choice strike tandem that have caused Premier League defences so many problems in the past few years.
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— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) April 10, 2024
Sheffield United
Performances have improved recently for Chris Wilder’s side, even if they have little to show for it. They scored a last-minute equaliser in a 2-2 home draw with Chelsea last weekend, and pushed Liverpool all the way in a 3-1 defeat at Anfield in their previous away game. Realistically their chances of survival are very slim, as they are rooted at the bottom of the table nine points adrift of safety with seven games to play, although they do have a game in hand on the teams above them. One of their three wins this season also came against Brentford, winning 1-0 in Chris Wilder’s first game back in charge in December.
The Blades have been on awful on the road all season and have the worst away record in the league, winning just once and picking up six points in fifteen games. They have conceded an average of 2.33 goals per game, and have failed to score in 40% of their away matches.
Gustavo Hamer has shown flashes of quality since his move from Coventry last summer, and has started to deliver consistency now too, with a goal or assist in each of the last four games. If he can continue to create for Ben Brereton Diaz and Oli McBurnie, both in the goals recently, then Sheffield United may have some hope.
Prediction
Both sides are in desperate need of a result, with Brentford wanting to create distance between themselves and the pack, and Sheffield United trying to cling on to them. Brentford are the better football team and at home, with the odds reflecting this, and the potential return of the Toney-Mbeumo partnership should be enough to overpower the Blades.
However, both teams have struggled defensively, and 75% of Brentford’s home games have gone over 2.5 goals. OddsNow is backing this to continue in a high-stakes relegation battle, with Brentford coming out on top to ease some of their worries and plunge their opponents into deeper trouble.