Preview: Sheffield United vs. Queens Park Rangers – prediction, team news, lineups

Aiming to make it back-to-back Championship victories to start the season and three straight wins in all competitions, Sheffield United will welcome Queens Park Rangers to Bramall Lane on Saturday.

The Blades marked their return to England’s second tier with a 2-0 away victory over Preston North End last weekend, while their visitors fell short at home to West Bromwich Albion.

Match preview

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Sheffield United will bid to extend a pleasing start to the 2024-25 season on Saturday, when they turn out in the second round of Championship fixtures on the back of a winning start and a cup triumph.

The Blades returned to England’s second tier following a dismal Premier League campaign last time around, in which they finished 20th having earned just 16 points from their 38 outings across spells under the management of Paul Heckingbottom and returning boss Chris Wilder.

The latter was then tasked with leading a charge for a return to the top flight this term, having overseen two promotions in South Yorkshire from League One to the Premier League between 2016 and 2019, and they made a fine start, immediately overcoming a two-point deduction with a 2-0 triumph away at Preston North End last Friday, as Oliver Arblaster opened the scoring with a deflected effort in the first half and Gustavo Hamer added a second from range.

Third-tier Wrexham then visited Bramall Lane for an EFL Cup first-round tie on Tuesday and Wilder’s men made it two wins from two competitive fixtures in an action-packed contest, initially falling behind only to go 4-1 up through Auston Trusty, Louie Marsh, Anis Slimane and a Lewis Brunt own goal before Sebastian Revan netted a consolation goal for the visitors in injury time.

With spirits bound to be high in the camp after a dismal campaign last time around, having quickly moved onto one point despite their deduction with a convincing display, Sheffield United will now bid to make it three wins on the bounce and two in the Championship with the aim of establishing themselves in the leading pack in the coming weeks.

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Their visitors, meanwhile, travel to Yorkshire in search of their first points of the league campaign after a midweek cup win of their own.

Queens Park Rangers maintained their Championship status last time around thanks to their eye-catching improvement under the management of Marti Cifuentes, who took charge in November with the London outfit sat on eight points from 14 outings before guiding them to an 18th-placed finish on 56 points, having finished with three consecutive victories to steer well clear of the drop.

Then heading into their first full season under the Spaniard aiming to kick on further from that run, the Hoops began with a tough test at home to West Bromwich Albion last Saturday and came away empty-handed, succumbing to a 3-1 defeat despite going ahead through Lucas Andersen in the 16th minute as Josh Maja went on to net a hat-trick for the visitors to turn the game on its head.

A trip to Cambridge United in the EFL Cup first round then followed for Cifuentes’s men on Tuesday, and they were able to pick up a first competitive victory of the campaign, initially going 2-0 up in the first half through Michael Frey and Paul Smyth before standing strong after Paul Digby pulled one back for the hosts around the hour mark.

Now aiming to build on that midweek win and open their Championship account for the season, albeit with their schedule not getting any easier, Queens Park Rangers will bid to pull off a statement victory at Bramall Lane to get up and running on Saturday.

Sheffield United Championship form:

Sheffield United form (all competitions):

Queens Park Rangers Championship form:

Queens Park Rangers form (all competitions):

Team News

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After making 11 changes to their starting XI for Tuesday’s EFL Cup tie, Sheffield United should revert to a similar starting XI from last week’s opening-day win over Preston North End on Saturday, while new signing Michael Cooper is in contention to start between the sticks after his arrival from Plymouth Argyle was confirmed on Thursday.

After Auston Trusty and Harry Souttar partnered up at the heart of the defence in midweek, Alfie Gilchrist, Anel Ahmedhodzic, Jack Robinson and Harrison Burrows should all return in a back four, while Oliver Arblaster and Vinicius Souza should reform their partnership at the base of the midfield despite competition from Sydie Peck.

At the top end of the pitch in their new-look 4-2-3-1 shape, Kieffer Moore should lead the line with support from fellow summer signing Callum O’Hare alongside Andre Brooks and Gustavo Hamer, who opened his account for the season with the Blades’ second against Preston.

Marti Cifuentes also rotated his QPR squad in the EFL Cup and should revert to a similar side from their curtain-raiser against West Bromwich Albion at the weekend, with Morgan Fox and key man Ilias Chair remaining sidelined by injuries.

Midfielder Jonathan Varane should keep his place from Tuesday’s game, though, having been given a full debut after his switch from Sporting Gijon, while Karamoko Dembele and Koki Saito will also fight to earn debuts after their recent arrivals.

Zan Celar and Michael Frey will compete to lead the line, while Lucas Andersen is a danger man in the middle of a supporting trio, likely alongside Paul Smyth and 19-year-old Rayan Kolli in Chair’s absence.

Sheffield United possible starting lineup:
Cooper; Gilchrist, Ahmedhodzic, Robinson, Burrows; Souza, Arblaster; Brooks, O’Hare, Hamer; Moore

Queens Park Rangers possible starting lineup:
Nardi; Dunne, Cook, Clark-Salter, Paal; Field, Varane; Smyth, Andersen, Kolli; Celar

We say: Sheffield United 2-0 Queens Park Rangers

Queens Park Rangers certainly have cause for optimism for the new season under Cifuentes, despite a slow start, but we see the hosts having too much quality and back Sheffield United to prevail at Bramall Lane with momentum growing.

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