Tonight’s Championship fixture sees two sides who have had contrasting fortunes since being relegated from the Premier League last season. Marco Silva’s Fulham have been flying high all season, and despite a recent run of form where they have taken just seven points from 15 available, they remain top of the table as Bournemouth have been unable to capitalise. Sheffield United meanwhile sit firmly midtable, with Paul Heckingbottom unable to emulate former manager Chris Wilder’s success in the second tier after his promotion from under-23’s manager. They have won their last three games however and are only six points off the playoffs with tonight’s game in hand, so there is potential for them to move up the table and into play-off contention over the next few weeks if United are able to continue this run.

Fulham are far and away the highest scoring side in the division, sitting a full 10 goals clear of second-placed Blackburn with 51. Aleksandar Mitrovic has provided a quite incredible 22 of these goals already this season, averaging 1.08 goals per 90. They are also solid at the back, conceding just 18 goals, which makes them the second-meanest defence in the league. Sheffield United by contrast sit 17^th in the Championship for goals conceded, but they are a relatively solid joint-ninth for goals scored, with 28. The Blades are crying out for a goalscorer, with veteran striker Billy Sharp currently their top scorer with six goals.

Tonight’s fixture would have appeared cut and dry just a few weeks ago, but Fulham’s recent inability to turn draws into wins throws some doubt on the result of the game, and having won their last three, Sheffield United may well be justified in believing there is unlikely to be a better time to be facing the Cottagers.

---

Fulham v Sheffield United Bet Builder Tips & Predictions

Aleksandar Mitrović to have 2+ Shots on Target

Mitrović is having a fantastic season back in the second tier of English football, and this price seems great for a player when you consider that this selection would have failed to land in just four of his last 15 games in the division. The league’s top scorer takes a huge 4.49 shots per 90 minutes, with just under half of those (2.17) being on target. Unsurprisingly given his lethal record in the league this year, most of Fulham’s attacking play goes through the Serbian number 9, and there is no reason to expect any different in this game. Undoubtedly both he and the team will be keen to show that their recent patchy form is nothing more than a blip, and after scoring in his last outing at Preston, I’m confident that Mitrović will be peppering Wesley Foderingham’s goal with shots tonight.

Throughout the season, it is only games in which Fulham have not won that this selection has failed to land. Admittedly they are not on the greatest run of form right now, but I would still expect them to be more likely than not to beat Sheffield United tonight, especially knowing that three points will open up a gap of five to nearest rivals Bournemouth. There has not been a single occasion all season in which Fulham have won and Mitrović has not hit two shots on target, and I see no reason to believe this would change tonight.

---

Fulham to have 5+ Shots on Target

Fulham are a fantastic attacking unit when they are on form, and they average 7.09 shots on target per 90, showing that despite something of a reliance on key man Mitrović for goals, the rest of the team can certainly contribute too. The team take 18.45 shots per 90 minutes, and they have failed to muster 5 or more shots on target in just seven of 22 games this season. Having such a clinical finisher clearly helps, but as the Cheat Sheet shows, there are plenty of other talents who can also contribute to this tally, with four players in and around the 1 shot on target per 90 minutes mark, and three more players who manage a shot on target around once every other game.

I would feel comfortable backing the team at 6 or more shots on target (priced at 2.25 if you fancy it), but I am choosing instead to stick with 5 or more, mostly due to the recent underperformance of the team. This will not last forever however, and tonight seems like a great opportunity for the team to break out of this malaise and begin a charge to really cement themselves in the automatic promotion spots. Even if the poor run continues, they have still managed to produce 5 or more shots on target in four of their last five while this small wobble has been ongoing, so there is still little reason to think that they will fail to create clear-cut chances tonight.

---

Enda Stevens to be Shown a Card

Tonight’s referee James Linington is the second-most card happy referee in the Championship this season, averaging a ridiculous five yellows per game. He has not awarded fewer than two in 9 games this season, and has awarded five or more in six games, including 9 cautions handed out in his last Championship game, also featuring Fulham away at Nottingham Forest. Card picks are highly advised if you are creating a bet builder for this game, and my favourite pick for this game is Enda Stevens.

Teams playing against Fulham on average this season pick up 2.13 cautions, compared to 1.86 against the Blades, and both teams have a roughly equal number of cards picked up (1.63 v 1.68 per game). Based on this, and the fact that Fulham should dominate the ball and most of the game, I expect Sheffield United to be picking up the lion’s share of the cards handed out tonight.

Although midfielder Oliver Norwood leads the way with six cards, Stevens fouls just as often as his teammate, and will tonight find himself pinned back by Fulham’s Harry Wilson, who as we can see on the Cheat Sheet below, tops the charts for fouls drawn, at a rate of 1.83 per game. His dribbling ability will see him running at Stevens who, as a wingback will likely be caught out of position and needing to recover against the pacy Welsh forward.

---

Back my 7/1 Fulham v Sheffield United Bet Builder below ⬇️

---

Haven’t got a Paddy Power account? You’re in luck…

Sign up to Paddy Power and get a full refund if your first bet loses. Grab an account through the offer below and place £30 on my 7/1 Fulham v Sheffield United Bet Builder. Here are the two possible outcomes:

---

* I recommend waiting for confirmed team line-ups before placing any bets *

---

Fulham v Sheffield United Cheat Sheet

* All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing *

---

How to watch Fulham v Sheffield United in the English Championship

📅   When is Fulham v Sheffield United? / Monday, 20 December 2021, 19:45
🏟   Where is Fulham v Sheffield United? / Craven Cottage (London)
📺   What TV Channel is Fulham v Sheffield United? / Sky Sports Football & Sky Sports Main Event
📱   Online Live Streaming for Fulham v Sheffield United? / bet365
🟨   …And who is the referee for Fulham v Sheffield United? / James Linington 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿