Sheffield Wednesday have been a team ‘worth taking on’ every week this season, so I can’t pretend there is much nuanced thinking to selecting a Sheffield United played in the Steel City Derby.

Patrick Bamford in the player I have settled on, his unlikely link up with Chris Wilder one of the most interesting stories of the season, after singing derogatory songs about his now manager whilst a Leeds player. The link up has been a success though, with Bamford bagging 7 goals in 15 appearances, with his minutes played amount to 9.2 90’s.

There’s not much to be said about Sheffield Wednesday that hasn’t already been said. They have lost ten games in a row and have only scored in one of those. And to make it worse if they lose this weekend, they will be relegated at the home of their city rivals. I’m sure the Blades fan won’t enjoy the opportunity to remind them of their status if the worst does happen.

I was expecting this line to be far too short to bet on, but I don’t think that it has been massively affected by the circumstances of this match at the moment.

There could be some sense in holding off this bet until we know the exact answer to the relegation conundrum, as I think that the opportunity to relegate Wednesday in this match will add a little bit extra to the atmosphere both on the pitch and in the stands as well.

Joshua Smith is the referee and he is averaging around 3.8 yellow cards per match in the Championship so far this season, but he averaged well over four yellows per match last season, so he is a referee who certainly doesn’t hold this bet back.

The Sheffield derby has been played three times in the last two seasons and there has been three (most recent), six, and four yellow cards given. I suspect that the message for the Wednesday players ahead of this match would be to go out and give it everything for the fans and to go out swinging.

Sheffield United have been a team to follow for corners all season, with a frankly ridiculous record of earning corners, especially at home.

United have won an average of 7.15 corners per match in the Championship this season. This goes up to exactly eight when only considering matches played at Bramall Lane. Four of their last five home matches have all gone over this line, too.

Sheffield Wednesday also concede a lot of corners. They are averaging 6.33 corners against them all season, this goes up to 7.07 when only looking at away fixtures. United won seven corners in the return fixture as well, a repeat of which would be good enough for a winning bet here.

The young centre back has been heavily involved in foul involvements in his burgeoning professional football career.

I have selected him as a player to commit fouls in the past, but here I like the chances of him being fouled instead, and this is partially due to his own record, but principally because of Patrick Bamford’s fouling record in recent weeks.

Otegbayo has been fouled in his last three matches, and in six of his last seven, he averages 1.05 fouls against him in his season so far. Bamford will likely be selected to play up front for the Blades, he has started the last two matches since coming back from suspension. That suspension doesn’t seem to have changed his physicality though, he has committed five fouls in those two matches, and committed seven fouls in the match previous.

He is averaging 2.39 fouls per 90, and whilst we cannot guarantee that these fouls will be committed against Otegbayo, there is a good enough chance to make the odds here look attractive.

The Sheffield United defender has been a rock since joining early in the season, however, he has had an unusually large number of fouls committed for a central defender.

He is averaging 1.14 fouls per 90, but he has been very consistent in when those fouls have occurred. He has committed at least one foul in each of his last 10 starts, and has only not committed a foul in four of his starts all season, so to get the odds that are available here in such an emotionally charged match looks a really good bet.

Direct opponents are likely to be Jama Lowe and/or Joel Ndala. Lowe is averaging just over a foul against him per 90 minutes, and Ndala was fouled three times on debut for Wednesday against Swansea a couple of weeks ago.

Sheffield United will be desperate to hammer their struggling rivals Sheffield Wednesday and I expect the Blades to have the lion’s share of possession and territory.

Wednesday have lost nine Championship games in a row, averaging only 39.6% possession in their last five matches, and I expect them to spend limited time in Sheffield United’s final third at Bramall Lane.

For this reason, I think United’s most likely candidates for a card will be in midfield, with this area of the pitch always crucial in derby matches.

Kalvin Phillips and Djibril Soumare are both combative midfielders who can be prone to making fouls and I am picking out the latter to find himself in the ref’s notebook in the Steel City derby.

Soumare has averaged 1.63 fouls per 90 in the Championship this season and has committed at least one foul in his last six appearances in a row.

The Senegalese midfielder has received four yellow cards in the league this season and I am tipping him to add to this tally against Wednesday, whose midfield pairing of Svante Ingelsson and Jaden Heskey have averaged 1.30 and 1.29 fouls won per 90 respectively in the Championship.

Since arriving on loan from Man City in January, Jaden Heskey has been on the losing side in seven straight matches for Sheffield Wednesday.

His first ever loan move, Heskey will be very eager to impress and this can at times result in over-enthusiasm, with the youngster having committed a foul in all but one of his Wednesday appearances so far.

Heskey’s foul count is high, averaging 1.94 per 90, and he was booked in Wednesday’s last away match at Swansea.

The hostile atmosphere of the Steel City derby will represent a big test of Heskey’s character at this early stage of his career and I could see him potentially falling foul of the ref in an attempt to make his mark on the match.

In four of his seven Championship matches so far, Heskey has made at least two fouls which means he is regularly walking a tightrope when it comes to collecting cards.