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Hull v Sheffield United
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Kick Off: Friday 13th August at 20:00
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Competition: Championship
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Watch Live: Sky Sports Football
An unbeaten team meets a team searching for its first win on Friday night, and Yorkshire bragging rights are also on the line.
Both Hull and Sheffield United are searching for a return to the Premier League, but it is the Blades who have started the season sharper.
The takeover talks appear to have stalled, but it is full steam ahead for Chris Wilder’s men. Whilst Blades weren’t necessarily favoured for automatic promotion by odds compilers in the initial list, the impressive recruitment of the likes of Callum O’Hare and Kieffer Moore has helped to galvanise some support behind Sheffield United.
There is a whole new look to the Yorkshire club, with a brand new four-man defence, and an attack built around the talents of the newbies, but also Gustavo Hamer, whom the fans, and, presumably, Wilder, is delighted to have kept hold of over the summer transfer window. Hamer is a proven quantity at this level and is someone that Hull will have to shut down if they are to be successful here.
Tim Walter is not having the impact expected upon his appointment to the Hull manager’s job. With Acun Ilicali going on record publicly to state that one of the key reasons for removing Liam Rosenior from the job was because he didn’t enjoy his team’s style of play, Walter was expected to improve the spectacle as well as the results.
With three draws and a defeat, and only two goals scored in those four matches, entertainment, and victories, have been very thin on the ground for the German.
Hull v Sheffield United Best Bets
A lot of the evidence from the season so far points towards Sheffield United. Hull have drawn both home matches, but against arguably lesser opposition, and Sheffield United have put in two good away performances.
The fixture after the international break is always a bit of a reset, with the managers and players having had a bit more time to work out where they are and what they need to do moving forwards, so one should always be a bit wary when approaching this set of fixtures, but finding a way of getting Sheffield United onside is important here.
The safer bet is Sheffield United draw no bet, but backing them to win straight at 2.10 is also a good option.
As a best bet, the aforementioned Gustavo Hamer has been a real attacking force for United so far this season. The former Coventry man has taken 15 shots and landed five of them on target, at least one in each Championship match so far. Given that the Blades are fancied to do well, Gustavo Hamer to have 1+ shots on target looks like a best bet. Two or more shots on target is 6.5, which also looks a price worth taking given that he managed this in the last Championship match against Watford.
Vinicius Souza to commit 2+ fouls has landed in three of his four Championship games this season, whilst playing 90 minutes in all of them. He is a very nice price to repeat this here, making it another bet well worth taking.
📂 Hull v Sheffield United Cheat Sheet
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📊 Hull Form and Stats
There isn’t much to shout about for Hull fans at the moment. No wins at this stage and only two goals were not what was expected to be delivered by their new manager and recruitment has been less than successful so far as well.
At home Hull have produced two draws, and both matches were fairly even. Bristol City created more open play xG on the opening day, but a draw was a fair result. Millwall and Hull played out a goalless draw last time at the MKM Stadium, and that was also probably fair, with neither side reaching 1 xG with the chances that they created.
The negative feeling around the club can probably be traced back to the 0-2 defeat at rivals Leeds just before the international break. Again, the result was fair based on the balance of play, with Hull failing to break 0.5 xG at Elland Road, and conceding two second half goals amongst 1.46 xG.
It is a far cry from the football chaos that was touted over the summer based on Walter’s history in Germany. Hull are 20th for goals scored, 19th for xG created, and 21st for shots on target. They are top half in terms of least goals and xG conceded though, so that is one positive to take into the match.
None of their matches have yet gone over 2.5 goals, and two out of four have seen BTTS land, but neither of the last two.
📊 Sheffield United Form and Stats
Sheffield Utd fans will probably be fairly satisfied with their start in the Championship. Unbeaten, and with a couple of impressive performances in the four matches so far, but there is definite room for improvement as well.
The opening-day domination of Preston North End perhaps hinted at an even more impressive beginning, but a second half capitulation at home to QPR in their next match slowed that momentum.
The Blades were then good again at Carrow Road, deserving a draw against Norwich, and then they went into the international break after completing a good 1-0 win over fast-starting Watford, creating 2.34 xG along the way.
This leaves Blades eighth in the table, ninth for goals scored and sixth for expected goals created, whilst being firmly in the top six for defensive metrics of goals and xG conceded.
Only one of Sheffield United’s matches has gone over 2.5 goals, with the two draws being the matches that have seen both teams score.
⚔️ Hull v Sheffield United Head-to-Head
Sheffield United have enjoyed historic domination of this fixture over the years. The very first meetings between the two were in the early Midland Section of the nascent Football League in the First World War years, but the vast majority of their fixtures have taken place in the second tier of the EFL. United are 34-20 up in terms of wins, with 20 draws in there too.
Recently, Hull have struggled to find the net against the Blades. United have won five of the last six meetings, with no Hull victory since 2018. Hull scored once in a 1-3 defeat in 2021, but have not found the back of the net in any of the other six recent matches.
However, it is worth pointing out that the teams didn’t play each other last season, with Sheffield United being in the Premier League in 2023/24, so there is very little continuity between the Blades team that did the double over Hull in 2022/23, and, indeed, there has been much turnover for the Tigers too.
Indeed, only Anel Ahmedhodzic is likely to be part of Sheffield United’s starting XI, whilst Hull have retained three of the back four from that 2022 encounter, but changed the rest of their XI, with both managers also different.
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* We recommend waiting for confirmed team line-ups before placing any bets.
* All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing.
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