Chelsea’s match against Manchester United on Thursday was perhaps one of the best games of the season so far. It had everything. Plenty of goals, end-to-end football and, most importantly, saw Chelsea win the match after being 3-2 down in the 97th minute. With Mauricio Pochettino under scrutiny from lots of fans, he will be gunning for wins now more than ever.

The Blues have been averaging 1.83 goals for per match this season, scoring 15 in their last five fixtures across all competitions (an average of 3.00). Their golden boy, Cole Palmer, has seen 24 goal contributions in the Premier League alone; proving to be a pivotal signing. Further, Chelsea are now unbeaten in their last six Premier League appearances.

As for The Blades, they have had major issues at the back this season, conceding an average of 2.67 goals per game in the Premier League. Notably over their last ten outings, Sheffield United have conceded 34 goals, including six to Arsenal and five to Brighton; both at home. Given Chelsea’s strong recent record, it would not be a surprise if they put a similar number past Chris Wilder’s men on Sunday.

What appears to be a major issue for Sheffield United is their inability to maintain possession, often sitting back and letting the other team control the game. They have averaged just 34.80% of the ball this season, the lowest of any Premier League side.

This narrative opens up value in the handicap markets as Chelsea look likely to comfortably win this one. These require a team to win by a certain margin, for example Chelsea (-1.0) would need them to win by two or more goals, effectively starting the game one goal down.

In each of Sheffield United’s last four Premier League games there has been at least four match goals scored, two of these seeing six goals. Further, in all of their last five home games, The Blades have conceded at least three goals in each, four of these five saw them concede a staggering five goals.

As for Chelsea, they have also had at least four match goals scored in all of their last four Premier League games. When considering games across all competitions, this run extends to four or more match goals in all of their last six outings.

Combining average goals scored and conceded this season to see both sides’ average match goals per game, Sheffield United and Chelsea average 3.60 and 3.55 respectively.

Finally, out of the six times these sides have met in the last decade, every game has seen at least two match goals. Four of these six saw the over 2.5 match goals market win, and two of these saw over 3.5 goals land.

What’s most interesting is that, particularly over their respective last five games, both sides seem to enjoy the drama, scoring and conceding considerably more goals in the second half. Chelsea have seen 26 match goals across their last five games: 61.5% coming in the second half. As for Sheffield United, they have seen 21 goals: 61.9% coming in the second half.

Palmer has had an electric season so far. He is Chelsea’s top goal scorer, finding the back of the net 19 times across all competitions (16 in the Premier League). At the end of March, Palmer became the youngest Chelsea player ever to reach 20 goal involvements in a single Premier League season.

Further, he is currently second in most goal involvements in a debut season for Chelsea (24). With plenty more games to play he will likely be eyeing up the club record: Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink (32).

Last time out Palmer bagged a hat-trick against Manchester United, scoring two in lightning-fast succession in the 100th and 101st minutes. That last goal marked the latest winning goal on record since the 2006/07 Premier League season.

He has averaged 1.22 shots on target and 3.14 shots per game so far in the Premier League, taking a a massive nine shots in both of his last two outings. He is also perhaps the most in-form player in the league, with eight goal contributions in his last four.

Chelsea and Sheffield United rank 1st and 2nd for most bookings in the league respectively. The Blues have averaged 3.24 cards for per match, while The Blades have seen 3.07 cards per game. Last time these sides met in December, there were four cards issued.

The most likely candidate from Chelsea for a booking is arguably Moises Caicedo, who has already seen nine yellows this season. Caicedo has committed an average of 1.82 fouls per game this season, the second highest in Chelsea’s regular starting XI.

As for Sheffield United, Gustavo Hamer is the obvious shout for a booking. Hamer committed two fouls against The Blues in December, picking up a booking in the process. Across his Premier League campaign so far, Hamer has also accumulated nine yellows, the third most in the league. He is also likely to be defending Conor Gallagher, who wins 1.51 fouls per game, in a tough midfield battle